China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars

China’s plan to become the world leader in electric cars may not reduce pollution as much as reallocate it. While greenhouse gas emissions would decline by roughly 19 percent, according to a McKinsey study, if electric cars replaced gas-powered ones in China, such emissions would shift from car exhausts to power plants – in other words from the city to the country. But pollution reduction is only one concern to Beijing in light of the country’s lack of sizeable domestic oil and natural gas reserves against a backdrop of massive economic growth. On the other hand, China is rich in coal reserves, a resource that powers three-fourths of the country’s electricity but is also more polluting than other fossil fuels. Indeed, in terms of promoting development, the plan makes sense since China is unlikely ever to be able to compete with the size and scope of the US, Japanese and Korean auto industry in its current form. – YaleGlobal