ENERGY TRANSITION DEBATE: ELECTRIC VEHICLES, OIL AND THE “GREEN” PARADOX

Abstract

The global energy transition is popularly viewed as an accelerated and irreversible transformation from fossil
fuels to renewable sources and e-mobility. However, this tale frequently overlooks the deep and deep-seated underlying
structural, economic, and geopolitical forces motivating the oil sector, and the environmental and health-related challenges
implicit in electric vehicle technologies. This chapter offers a critical evaluation of the resilience of the oil industry in the
context of an energy transition framework and explains the environmental paradox of “green” energy solutions. Based
on qualitative synthesis of recent LCA, environmental science peer-reviewed works, policy analysis, the paper reaches
three key conclusions. Oil is still embedded in global energy systems as a result of inertia of its infrastructure, dependence
on industrial sectors, and geopolitical interests. Second, the deployment of EVs transfers much of environmental load
upstream, particularly when it comes to battery production and raw materials. Third, certain environmental and health
risks, including those tied to lithium-ion battery production and their management at the end of the life cycle, are specific
to technologies associated with electric vehicles and not present in traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. The
paper argues that decarbonization is necessary but that an accounting of the dynamics of the energy transition requires
a reckoning about oil’s continuing relevance, and with the hidden costs of electrification