Listen: Electric vehicles face roadblocks ahead
This article is a copy of the original article on Think.ing.com
Global temperatures have shattered records this month, heightening the urgency to reduce carbon emissions. But the energy transition and the shift to electric vehicles, in particular, is fraught with challenges, as ING Commodities Strategist Ewa Manthey explains in this podcast
From record-breaking temperatures in the US to wildfires in Europe to typhoons, landslides and record monsoon rain in Asia, extreme weather is becoming the new normal. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this week that “the era of global boiling has arrived” as scientists predict this July will be the hottest ever recorded in human history.
One of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally – and thus one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis - comes from transportation. Many governments around the world have introduced plans to phase out the traditional combustion engine over the next 10-15 years and are investing heavily in electric vehicles through tax incentives and subsidies.
But ING's Ewa Manthey tells Editors Rebecca Byrne and Olivia Grace that bottlenecks along the EV supply chain, surging metals prices and increased geopolitical tensions are a major risk to mass EV adoption, with much more work needed to turn climate goals into a sustainable reality.