Topic 6 - EQ2 - Carbon

Question 1

What are primary energy resources?

Answer 1

Those that are consumed in their raw form. E.g. the burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), nuclear energy production (creating heat from uranium or plutonium) and the production of energy from renewable sources (solar, wind or wave). Primary sources can also be used to generate secondary energy (notably electricity)

Question 2

What are secondary energy sources?

Answer 2

Energy sources which have been converted/transformed from primary energy sources. E.g. liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel), electricity, biogas, heat…

Question 3

What are domestic energy sources?

Answer 3

Energy sources within a sovereign states’ boundaries. As such resources diminish there becomes an increased reliance on foreign energy. E.g. Britain’s North Sea oil and gas reserves or Saudi Arabia’s gas reserves.

Question 4

What are foreign energy sources?

Answer 4

Sources of energy from other countries imported to meet energy demands. Foreign energy sources can be controversial depending on the country. E.g. Russian gas supplied lots of Europe, especially Germany, until the invasion of Ukraine where lots of European nations tried to move away from Russian gas.

Question 5

What are renewable energy sources?

Answer 5

Continuous flows of nature which can be constantly reused to produce energy. E.g. solar radiation, wind and wave/hydro power.

Question 6

What are non-renewable energy sources?

Answer 6

Finite energy sources. The stocks will eventually run out. E.g. coal, oil and gas.

Question 7

What is the energy mix?

Answer 7

The range of energy sources of a region, as well as the proportion of each source used for energy. E.g. UK’s energy mix is 40% gas, 15% coal…

Question 8

What is energy security?

Answer 8

Being able to access reliable and affordable sources of energy to meet energy demands.

Question 9

What has happened to the position of oil and gas in the UK energy mix between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 9

-Oil has fallen by over 5% from 38% to 32.5%
-Gas has increased by over 20% from 19% to 40%

Question 10

What are the main factors affecting the position of a source of energy in an energy mix?

Answer 10

-Cost (more expensive = less likely to become more used in energy mix)
-Physical availability (more reserves/access = more likely to be used in energy mix)
-Politics (privatisation = in the hands of private companies to decide not the government)
-Economic development and access to technology (better economy = more money available to pursue newer technologies for producing energy)
-Environmental priorities and public perception (government commitments to cut carbon emissions = less fossil fuels + general perception of energy source as ‘bad’ = less of a role in energy mix)

Question 11

Why were such changes in the role of oil as part of the UK energy mix seen between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 11

Oil decrease =
-Cost (rise of Middle Eastern oil prices since early 70s and cost of extracting North Sea oil is expensive)
-Physical availability (stocks of North Sea oil depleting)
-Politics (privatised energy supply = private companies did not chose to focus on oil)
-Economic development (UK can afford to pursue other renewable sources like wind)
-Environment/perception (UK gov’t committed to 40% cut in emissions 1990-2030 and oil considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels often from morally questionable sources)

Question 12

Why were such changes in the role of gas as part of the UK energy mix seen between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 12

Big increase in gas:
-Physical availability (big reserves the North Sea with a pipeline easily supplying UK, though stocks now depleting)
-Technology (new tech allows liquefaction of gas from Qatar making importation easier + pipelines under North Sea connect UK with Norwegian gas which supplies approx 60% of gas)
-Perception (perceived as a cleaner fuel than hydrocarbons as to releases fewer harmful pollutants)

Question 13

What has happened to the position of coal in the UK energy mix between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 13

Big 19% reduction of coal from 34% of energy to 15% of energy

Question 14

Why were such changes in the role of coal as part of the UK energy mix seen between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 14

Big reduction in coal:
-Physical availability (accessible coal in coal mining heartlands almost run out across UK as it has been the main energy source since the Industrial Revolution, only coal left is far too deep to be worth extracting)
-Politics (Thatcher’s gov’t did not want to pay the miners their wage demands and British coal industry collapsed)
-Perception (perceived as one of the dirtiest sources due to emissions and visible smog + coal does not fit into UK’s plan for a greener future with fewer emissions)
-Economic development (UK can afford to branch out to renewables, etc…)

Question 15

What has happened to the position of nuclear energy in the UK energy mix between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 15

Small increase 3% from 6% to 9%

Question 16

Why were such changes in the role of nuclear energy as part of the UK energy mix seen between 1980 and 2012?

Answer 16

Only small increase:
-Public perception (NIMBYism due to eye sore and fear of radiation + Chernobyl 1986 set back nuclear energy decades in the Western World)
-Physical availability (availability of North Sea oil and gas actually led to a loss of interest in nuclear energy development)

Question 17

What has happened to the position of renewables in the UK energy mix between 1980 and 2022 (not 2012)?

Answer 17

Massive increase of approx 36% from 4% to 40%

Question 18

Why were such changes in the role of renewables as part of the UK energy mix seen between 1980 and 2022?

Answer 18

Massive increase:
-Perception (people really like the idea of renewable energy fuelling their lives, however there is some NIMBYism over wind farms)
-Physical availability (British coasts perfectly suited to wind farms, not so much suited to solar energy production)
-Environmental priorities (UK trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% 1990-2030 and renewables are a sure way to reduce emissions)

Question 19

What has happened to the position of oil and gas in the Norwegian energy mix between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 19

-Oil has fallen by over 17% from 51% in 1970 to 33.5% in 2010
-Gas has risen by 20% (like the UK) from 0% to 20%

Question 20

Why were such changes in the role of oil as part of the Norwegian energy mix seen between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 20

Decrease in oil:
-Physical availability (still lots used because Norway has an abundance of oil and the tech for deepwater drilling)
-Environmental priorities (does not play into the green future of Norway which also has a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions)
-Politics (high royalties and taxes paid to the gov’t with the sale of fossil fuels with profits going into a sovereign wealth fund to prepare for a carbon neutral future)

Question 21

Why were such changes in the role of gas as part of the Norwegian energy mix seen between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 21

Massive increase in gas:
-Physical availability and technology (Norway discovered huge reserves of gas in the North Sea, like the UK but they found more, and after 1970 developed deepwater drilling technology to extract gas)
-Perceptions (deemed as cleaner fossil fuel than coal or oil)

Question 22

What has happened to the position of coal in the Norwegian energy mix between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 22

More than a 5% decrease from 6.5% to less than 1.5%

Question 23

Why were such changes in the role of coal as part of the Norwegian energy mix seen between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 23

Reduction in coal:
-Perception and governmental environmental priorities (one of the dirties energy sources due to pollutants released at combustion and therefore does not fit into Norway’s plans for a greener future + never a big industry in Norway so not missed)

Question 24

What has happened to the position of hydropower in the Norwegian energy mix between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 24

Stayed fairly steady with minor 2.5% reduction from 425% to 40%

Question 25

Why were such changes in the role of hydropower as part of the Norwegian energy mix seen between 1970 and 2010?

Answer 25

Maintenance of hydropower
-Physical availability (Norway’s steep valleys, low population density and high precipitation mean it is suited perfectly to HEP, however, no major increases in HEP because Norway is pretty much at capacity with HEP being developed since 1907 and approx 600 HEP sites nationwide)
-Environment and perception (HEP is not a harmful fossil fuel and so its big position in the mix is accepted and welcomed, no real NIMBYism over HEP)

Question 26

Is the UK energy secure?

Answer 26

No. Since 2005 with the depletion of stocks of North Sea oil and gas, the UK has been a net importer of energy.

Question 27

Who does the UK rely on for oil and gas imports?

Answer 27

Norway. Norway supplies 60% of natural gas imports and 50% of oil imports. OPEC countries supply 35% of oil and Qatar just under 30% of gas imports.

Question 28

Is the UK becoming more energy secure?

Answer 28

The future looks somewhat promising for British energy security with wind energy projects being developed across the UK (e.g. Hornsea project one set to be world’s largest offshore wind farm just off the Yorkshire coast) and somewhat of a nuclear renaissance taking place (construction of Sizewell C Nuclear plant in Suffolk given the go-ahead by the government in 2022 which will suposedly power 6 million homes)

Question 29

Is Norway energy secure?

Answer 29

Yes. In fact Norway is a major exporter of oil and gas, especially to Britain, and a great deal of energy used by Norwegian citizens is generated through domestic Hydropower energy.

Question 30

Are there any threats to Norwegian energy security?

Answer 30

Yes - it could be argued that HEP is at capacity with the position of HEP actually somewhat dropping as a share of the energy mix in the past 50 years, in addition Norway has to grapple with a growing population (1 million growth just since 2000). Will Norway have to turn to fossil fuels to meet the growing demand? However, the sovereign wealth fund from the sale of fossil fuels can be used to help Norway develop more renewable energy infrastructure.

Question 31

What is an energy pathway?

Answer 31

The flow of energy between a producer and consumer and how it reaches the consumer (e.g. pipeline, transmission lines, ship…)

Question 32

What are 4 energy players with key roles in securing energy pathways and supplies?

Answer 32

TNCs, OPEC, National governments and consumers

Question 33

What is the role of TNCs in securing energy pathways and energy supplies?

Answer 33

TNCs (e.g. Gazprom, ExxonMobil, Shell) play a vital role in exploring, exploiting and distributing energy. TNCs invest heavily in the distribution and processing of energy sources (especially oil), however, fundamentally the role of TNCs is only really to deliver profits to shareholders. Money focused.

Question 34

What is the role of OPEC in securing energy pathways and energy supplies?

Answer 34

OPEC aim to ensure the stabilisation of oil markets across the globe by coordinating the petroleum policies of member nations (together members control 81% of proven gas reserves). The aim is to provide a regular supply of oil/petrol for consumers so that producers have a steady income and investors get good roi. Money focused.

Question 35

What is the role of National gov’ts in securing energy pathways and energy supplies?

Answer 35

To balance meeting international environmental obligations but also secure energy supplies for citizens and domestic industry to support economic growth. They need to balance environmental and economic priorities.

Question 36

What is the role of consumers in securing energy pathways and energy supplies?

Answer 36

They create the energy demand. Consumers have the power to damage the oil industry through the buying of electric cars or instillation of solar panels, or even the protesting of fracking and nuclear energy sites in their backyard. More power over the industry than consumers think themselves.

Question 37

Are we still reliant on fossil fuels?

Answer 37

Still make up approx 86% of global energy mix, largely driven by the prevalence of fossil fuels in huge emerging countries (China and India), although renewables and other energy sources are becoming more prevalent.

Question 38

Are fossil fuels evenly distributed across the world?

Answer 38

No. Their location is determined by geology and different global regions naturally have different geology and so different levels of natural fossil fuels.

Question 39

Is there a mismatch between coal supply and demand within countries?

Answer 39

No. All 8 of world’s biggest suppliers are the biggest consumer. China is by far biggest producer and consumer.

This is because coal is characterised by high transport costs but also relatively low energy density.

Question 40

Is there a mismatch between oil supply and demand within countries?

Answer 40

Yes. OPEC produce 40% of global oil yet no OPEC country is a top 9 consumer, with China and the USA being huge consumers, and especially Japan, despite Japan having barely any oil and the vast majority being imported.

This is because oil is very easily transported via tankers and pipelines, as well as the high energy density of oil making it worth transport costs. It has been called the lifeblood of industrialised nations, e.g. meets 97% of British transport energy demands and is used to make a variety of products like CDs, crayons…

Question 41

Is there a mismatch between natural gas supply and demand within countries?

Answer 41

Yes - even larger than with oil. Germany is largest importer yet is not a top 10 producer, same with Japan, Italy and the UK who fill up the subsequent positions.

This is because gas can be easily transported via tankers and pipelines, as well as the fact that gas is very energy dense and is considered the cleanest of the hydrocarbons which is increasingly important to developed countries like Germany and the UK.

Question 42

Spatial tensions between supply and demand reflect tensions between what two types of geography?

Answer 42

Human and Physical geography

Question 43

Why are energy pathways essential in maintaining the world’s supply of energy?

Answer 43

-There is a natural mismatch between locations of supplies and where the demand is
-Energy pathways (oil and gas pipes or electricity cables) get energy from the source to the consumer

-Some countries have few domestic sources of energy (e.g. Japan) and so rely on imports
-Some places have vast reserves but are remote (e.g. Alaska) and so pathways (e.g. pipelines, tankers…) needed to connect to population centres or international ports
-Some countries have abundant supplies (e.g. Russia)
-Some countries have levels of development which are barriers to being able to exploit their own supplies

Question 44

How may energy pathways be prone to disruption?

Answer 44

-Political conflicts with terrorist tactics used to target pathways (e.g. Niger Delta Avengers in Nigeria bombed a series of oil pipelines in Nigeria’s main oil producing state in 2016 which caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil per day and Nigerian production levels to fall to the lowest in 20 years)

-Global chokepoints of maritime energy transportation are prone to piracy (e.g. straight of Malacca in SE Asia is second largest tanker oil and gas chokepoint on earth and saw 500 attacks from 2009-2015 by pirates taking ships hostage, etc…)

-Major weather events as storms or other events can damage pipelines (e.g. stormy winter in 2013, import pipeline damaged caused UK gas reserves to fall to just 6 hours worth)

-Proxy war (e.g. in Syria, US and Sunni allies fought Russia and Shia allies over oil pipelines through Syria from either Iran or Saudi to the European market. Energy pathways of both Saudi/gulf and Iranian oil have been disrupted by war in Syria)

Question 45

What are four unconventional fossil fuels?

Answer 45

-Tar Sands (mining of bituminous sands and then industrial separation of bitumen)
-Oil Shale (heating of sedimentary rocks with kerogen deposits)
-Shale Gas (hydraulic fracturing with water and chemicals pumped into the ground to release natural gas trapped in grained sedimentary rocks)
-Deepwater Oil (deepwater drilling of oil found well offshore and at considerable ocean depths)

Question 46

What are two positives of tar sands?

Answer 46

SELF RELIANCE - Provides an alternative source of oil to improve Canadian energy security, in fact could meet 16% of North American oil needs by 2030 and there are enough Canadian reserves to act as a serve gap until cleaner and renewable sources of energy become more viable)
LOCAL ECONOMY - Has a localised economic benefit in Alberta. Earns vital revenues for local and national economies and provides jobs for local community.

Question 47

What are two negatives of tar sands?

Answer 47

ENV DAMAGE - The extraction of them does extensive environmental damage. Widespread deforestation (over 450km2 of Albertan woodland has been cleared), huge wastewater production (1.8 million tonnes of waste water daily, some of which contaminates local water supplies), open cast mining (scars the landscape), huge waste of tar (2 tonnes of tar wasted for every 1 tonne of oil) and huge greenhouse emissions when burnt (3x emissions of conventional oil)
COST - Is only economically viable when price of crude oil exceeds 40USD per barrel as it costs 10-20USD to extract bitumen from tar sands, compared to approx 2USD for conventional oil

Question 48

What are two positives of oil shale?

Answer 48

RESERVES - There are huge proven reserves in the continental western United States with possibly 800 million barrels worth in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and it is likely there will be more discovered elsewhere in the world
LIMITED ENV IMPACT - Shell, the oil company, have developed a way to limit the environmental impact by using underground heating surrounded by a freeze wall to stop kerogen escaping and contamination

Question 49

What are two negatives of oil shale?

Answer 49

WASTE - There is huge amounts of waste produced with 1 tonne of waste rock and 2 tonnes of waste water for every 1 barrel. There is scope for contamination. The oil also produces greenhouse gas emissions.
COST - The extraction process is very expensive and so there has been little commercial development anywhere in the world.

Question 50

What are two positive of shale gas?

Answer 50

SELF RELIANCE - Domestic production of shale gas increases energy security and reduces the need for the importation of foreign energy (e.g. domestic shale gas supplies 25% of US gas reducing need to import)
ACCESSIBILITY - Proven reserves across the entire globe, in 48 different basins in 32 different countries (likely only countries with technology to discover and so can truly become a valuable part of the entire globe’s energy futures as conventional reserves deplete. It could play a role as an accessible transition fuel.

Question 51

What are two negatives of shale gas

Answer 51

ATMOSPHERIC ENV DAMAGE - Methane leaks during shale gas extraction result in enhanced greenhouse effect (methane has 21x warming effect of CO2) which means that it is actually more harmful than coal.
LAND ENV DAMAGE - Fracking has been linked to pollution of the surrounding environment, especially water contamination. The chemicals used to frack are not regulated and studies have found carcinogenic chemicals being used, chemicals which possibly contaminate the surrounding land and water.

Question 52

What are two positives of deepwater oil extraction?

Answer 52

SELF RELIANCE - It can give countries which do not have conventional oil reserves the chance to become more self reliant (e.g. has worked for Brazil since 2006 and worked for Britain the past with the discovery of North Sea oil).
MEET GLOBAL DEMANDS - The vast amounts of global deepwater oil can help match every increasing global demand for oil - the lifeblood of industrial economies and emerging countries.

Question 53

What are two negatives of deepwater oil extraction?

Answer 53

ATMOSPHERIC ENV DAMAGE - Oil is extremely carbon dense and so combustion. greatly enhances global warming and the greenhouse effect
WATER ENV DAMAGE - Widespread concern about oil spills and how to contain mass pollution if coastal waters + setting up of drilling and refinery infrastructure leads to damage of the biosphere and marine ecosystems, and the disruption of scenic views due to constant tanker movement.

Question 54

What is an overall positive of unconventional fossil fuels?

Answer 54

Provide alternative sources of energy to improve energy security for the future as conventional fossil fuel stocks are rapidly depleting. Can act as transition fuels.

Question 55

What are the types of renewable and recyclable energy sources?

Answer 55

Recyclable: Nuclear
Renewable: Wind and Solar

Question 56

What are the economic costs and benefits of nuclear energy?

Answer 56

Benefits: Actual operational costs are relatively low + energy is cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation (except fossil fuels)
Costs: Cost of tech and building power stations is very high (Sizewell C projected cost of 20-30 billion GBP) and so is only really an option to the most developed countries + cost of decommissioning nuclear power stations is also very high

Question 57

What are the social costs and benefits of nuclear energy?

Answer 57

Benefits: People enjoy having energy from a cleaner source
Costs: High perceived risk - people don’t want power stations in their backyard because of concerns about disasters and the disposal of toxic radioactive waste with a long decay life

Question 58

What are the environmental costs and benefits of nuclear energy?

Answer 58

Benefits: No greenhouse gas emissions during operation and waste can be re-processed and reused
Costs: Hard to safely dispose of toxic radioactive waste with long decay life

Question 59

What are the economic costs and benefits of wind energy?

Answer 59

Benefits: Wind energy is relatively inexpensive (supposedly cheaper than gas) and technology improvement is constantly making it cheaper and more cost-competitive
Costs: The initial cost of building wind farms can be great (Hornsea Project One estimated to cost at least £4.2bil) and the maintenance/operation costs are great (between 40k and 50k USD per turbine per year)

Question 60

What are the social costs and benefits of wind energy?

Answer 60

Benefits: Thousands of construction jobs created (2000 for Hornsea) and low cost of wind energy means lower energy bills for the poorest in society
Costs: Onshore wind often upsets locals due to the noise they produce and because they can disrupt the landscape

Question 61

What are the environmental costs and benefits of wind energy?

Answer 61

Benefits: Produces no toxic pollutants or emissions
Costs: Potentially harmful to birds which can fly into turbines and can disrupt migration of birds + sound/visual pollution

Question 62

What are the economic costs and benefits of solar energy?

Answer 62

Benefits: Low maintenance costs and so can be used and maintained in poorer countries cutting energy bills greatly in the long term
Costs: Relatively high cost of instillation whether it be wiring, panel instillation… (but rapid development in tech should lead to dropping costs and solar energy is expensive) and needs to be stored in expensive batteries is not used immediately

Question 63

What are the social costs and benefits of solar energy?

Answer 63

Benefits: Creates jobs in solar maintenance and installation + can cut energy bills greatly for consumers, especially if people have their own ones at home, and the energy itself has diverse applications in the home from heat to electricity
Costs: People may not like the look of them on their roofs

Question 64

What are the environmental costs and benefits of solar energy?

Answer 64

Benefits: Renewable and sustainable source of energy as the panels themselves cause no pollution
Costs: Manufacturing process of solar photovoltaic systems involves the use of some toxic materials and hazardous products + reflection of sun off of panels can confuse some birds of the orientation of the sun + take up a lot of space if in a farm + entirely weather dependent and much better to be used at equatorial latitudes

Question 65

What are biofuels?

Answer 65

It is the general name for fuels immediately produced from any organic matter, or biomass, e.g. plant material and animal waste

Question 66

What are primary biofuels?

Answer 66

Fuels from organic materials that are used in their unprocessed form (e.g. fuelwood, wood chips). They are primarily used for cooking, heating or electricity production.

Question 67

What are secondary biofuels?

Answer 67

Fuels from the processing of biomass and include liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, which can be used by vehicles and in industrial processes.

Question 68

What are the strengths of biofuels?

Answer 68

-Renewable energy source
-Lower emissions than fossil fuels (reduces greenhouse gases by 90%)
-Biodegradable
-Easy to grow biomass without specialist equipment

Question 69

What are the weaknesses of biofuels?

Answer 69

-Takes land and large volumes of water away from food production
-Needs pesticides and fertilisers, which are produced using fossil fuels
-Often requires deforestation which takes away the benefits of biofuels by removing a carbon sink, biofuels actually become carbon positive if they are produced on deforested land

Question 70

What are the opportunities brought by biofuels?

Answer 70

-Provides rural inward investment and local development projects with jobs (around 1.34 million jobs provided globally by the biofuel industry)
-Positive multiplier effects in rural regions
-Fuels earn export income for region/nation
-Improvements in rural infrastructure often provided by growers
-New technology will create biofuels that only use waste products and so will have lower carbon emissions

Question 71

What are the threats brought by biofuels?

Answer 71

-Takes investment away from food production causing food shortages which lead to higher food prices
-Can contaminate water resources with pesticides or fertilisers if overused
-Has reinforced rural inequalities when TNCs looking to capitalise on biofuel industry buy up rural land driving the price of land up

Question 72

What are the three radical technologies that are alternative to fossil fuels that we study?

Answer 72

-Hydrogen Fuel Cells
-Carbon Capture Storage (CSS)
-Electric vehicles

Question 73

How do hydrogen fuel cells reduce carbon emissions? Where in the world is it being used (countries/industries)?

Answer 73

Hydrogen fuel cells work by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to electricity by combining it with oxygen.

It is being used in the manufacturing of cars, e.g. the Toyota Mira using H fuel cells went on sale in 2015 in California (later rolled out on wide scale)

Question 74

What are the positives and negatives of Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

Answer 74

Positives: more efficient than combustion (40-60% energy efficiency vs 25% combustion) can use water, including ocean water (plentiful supply) and lower operational cost than batteries. Hydrogen is most abundant element in universe.
Negatives: fossil fuels, such as crude oils, used to separate the hydrogen from hydrogen compounds + could change the composition of the water cycle if used extensively

Question 75

How does CCS reduce carbon emissions? Where in the world is it being used (countries/industries)?

Answer 75

CSS uses technology to ‘capture’ CO2 emissions from coal fired power stations or other industrial processes. It is then transported to a site where it is stored, compressed, transported by pipeline to an injection well, where it’s injected in liquid form into suitable geological reservoirs.

It is being used in Canada. In 2014 Canada opened its first coal fired power plant with CCS technology installed at a cost of 1.3bil USD. It will help reduce traditional emissions by 90%.

Question 76

What are the positives and negatives of CCS?

Answer 76

Positives: theoretically could cut global emissions by approx 19%, could extend the use of fossil fuels as we find a way to transition to new resources, and ‘carbon dioxide scrubbers’ are similar and are already reasonably widespread

Negatives: expensive due to complex technology involved so its not economically viable for widespread use yet, and stored carbon could leak into nearby water aquifers and atmosphere

Question 77

How do electric vehicles reduce carbon emissions? Where in the world is it being used (countries/industries)?

Answer 77

They do not run on trad fossil fuels but are instead powered entirely by electricity with charged batteries and an electric motor.

Used across the world, however, they are currently quite expensive so are concentrated in richer countries/regions where consumers can afford the vehicles and also where the expensive infrastructure is in place to support them (e.g. Norway has most per capita by far and all of the top 6 countries are in NW Europe). Nevertheless, China is an emerging economy and it is 9th in electric car ownership per capita globally.

Question 78

What are the pros and cons of electric vehicles?

Answer 78

Pros: theoretically zero direct carbon emissions, cheap to run (petrol is expensive), newer electric cars (e.g. teslas) can extend over 200 miles without a charge, becoming more affordable and charging infrastructure growing across the globe

Cons: almost entirely depends on how electricity is generated - e.g. Paraguay and Norway electricity generated almost entirely via renewables BUT in the Middle East, E Europe and N Africa it is done almost entirely using fossil fuels and so there is almost little point in using electric cars. Lack of noise dangerous for pedestrians.