Electric shock – Tesla cars in Hong Kong more polluting than petrol models, report claims
Investment research firm says the government is ‘harming rather than helping the environment’ by subsidising the ‘green’ vehicles
Electric vehicles in Hong Kong could be adding “20 per cent more” carbon to the atmosphere than regular petrol ones over the same distance after factoring in the city’s coal-dominated energy mix and battery manufacture, a new research report found.
Investment research firm Bernstein also claimed that by subsidising electric vehicle purchases, the government was effectively “harming rather than helping the environment” at the expense of the taxpayer.
The report discloses that the author maintains a “long position” in oil company BP, while electric vehicle supporters are quick to dismiss its claims.
“The policy is to encourage drivers to be green, but they are actually subsidising vehicles that create more emissions of CO2 and particulates from power plants,” said Bernstein senior analyst Neil Beveridge.
“Electric vehicles can work in places where there is a very low carbon intensity in electricity generation, but more than 68 per cent of electricity [on Hong Kong Island] comes from coal.”