Grid Inequalities Shift EV Carbon Cuts: Study Shows Richer Cities Transfer Emissions to Poorer Areas

A new UCL study published in Nature Cities reveals that the carbon benefits of electric vehicles in China are unevenly distributed. Richer cities adopt EVs heavily but rely on electricity from poorer, coal-dependent cities through the shared grid. This shifts the carbon footprint and pollution burden to less developed areas, with 41.8% of EV electricity in wealthy cities imported from poorer ones. The study tracked 245 million vehicle registrations across 285 Chinese cities in 2020. It found that while EVs reduced national passenger vehicle emissions by about 0.5%, nearly half of the cities analyzed became carbon importers, facing higher costs to meet emission reduction targets. The researchers say this pattern could apply to other countries like the US, India, and Brazil. Decarbonizing the grid alongside EV adoption is critical. Without cleaner power generation, EVs risk moving emissions from tailpipes to power plant smokestacks. The study calls for better carbon accounting and support mechanisms for cities that bear transferred emissions.