Switch to electric cars? Not so fast, SA – ditch coal first

The original article can be found here.

Article highlights:

  • Some 90% of South Africa’s electricity is produced by outdated, low efficiency coal-fired power stations. For now, public transport is the better option – but that needs work too.
  • In the South African context, electric cars are currently the dirtiest means of personal transport available, and will remain so until we have fixed our electricity generation.
  • In order to get a sense of when, or if, an EV will break even on its carbon emissions compared to an internal combustion engine competitor, we need a reasonable comparison in the South African context.