Sustainability for all? The challenges of predicting and managing the potential risks of end-of-life electric vehicles and their batteries in the Global South

Prates, Luisa, Karthe, Daniel, Zhang, Lulu, Wang, Lili, O'Connor, Jack, Lee, Halim and Dornack, Christina, (2023). Sustainability for all? The challenges of predicting and managing the potential risks of end-of-life electric vehicles and their batteries in the Global South. Environmental Earth Sciences, 82 143-n/a

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Prates, Luisa
    Karthe, Daniel
    Zhang, Lulu
    Wang, Lili
    O'Connor, Jack
    Lee, Halim
    Dornack, Christina
    Title Sustainability for all? The challenges of predicting and managing the potential risks of end-of-life electric vehicles and their batteries in the Global South
    Appearing in Environmental Earth Sciences
    Volume 82
    Publication Date 2023-03-10
    Place of Publication Cham, Switzerland
    Publisher Springer Nature
    Start page 143
    End page n/a
    Language eng
    Abstract The transition from fossil-fuel-based internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles plays a key role to decarbonize road transport and mitigate climate change. Even though this transition is still in its infancy, it is important to consider not only its environmental benefits but also its potential side effects. Recent projections estimate that the current electric vehicle fleet is expected to increase from 2.4 million in 2020 to over 81 million in 2050, when more than half of all new cars sold are predicted to be battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). End-of-life (EOL) BEVs and their components (particularly the batteries) are far more challenging to manage than their fossil-fueled predecessors as they contain large amounts of chemical substances that constitute potential hazards to the environment and human health and safety. The paper discusses relevant topics for understanding future risks of transition to electric mobility in the Global South countries, which include the internationally used vehicle fluxes; waste management challenges for EoL BEV and its lithium-ion batteries (LIB); environmental and human health impacts of EoL LIBs disposal and policies and regulations for the e-vehicle life cycle. Recommendations to support the development of science-based policies to close regulation gaps of the used electric vehicle international trade flow, avoid pollution-shifting and guarantee a sustainable transition to e-mobility in the Global South countries are given. As a conclusion, an integrated approach from international and national stakeholders is fundamental to guarantee strong policies and regulations as well as to support the development of a sound management of EoL EV and LIBs in the Global South countries and help pave the way to a global circular economy.
    UNBIS Thesaurus ELECTRIC VEHICLES
    WASTE MANAGEMENT
    Keyword E-mobility
    Circular economy
    Lithium ion batteries
    used vehicles trade
    Copyright Holder The Authors
    Copyright Year 2023
    Copyright type Creative commons
    ISSN 1866-6280
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-10806-5
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    Created: Wed, 19 Jul 2023, 05:58:40 JST by Věra Greschner Farkavcová on behalf of UNU FLORES