What is holding us back from reducing the number of petrol-fueled cars that are tremendously harmful for the environment?
Humans have been greatly impacted by the automotive industry. Automobiles have alleviated the challenges of getting from one location to another while having a remarkable impact on the economy. Not only has automobile manufacturing grown to become one of the world's greatest businesses, but it also holds major importance in the oil and gas industry.
Today, more than 89% of cars use fossil fuels, such as petroleum and diesel, as energy sources. Throughout the production, shipping and consumption of such fuels, the environment is exposed to negative effects in many ways. The emissions created by the automotive industry leads to air pollution and climate change. Oil spills and leakages cause water pollution, thus destroying marine life. Moreover, mining of fossil fuels results in land degradation by destroying forests and mountaintops that concludes with natural habitat loss.
Abovementioned environmental concerns have led to the creation of the latest car technology that uses electricity, and hydrogen instead of fossil fuels to reduce the adverse impacts of the transportation sector. However, in Europe only 11% of motor vehicles use electricity rather than fossil fuels due to challenges such as lack of charging stations and high prices. Another alternative for passenger cars, public transportation, is not reliable due to lack of expenditure in some EU countries.
Even though several proposals to achieve a more sustainable automotive industry have been made, the environment and society continue to suffer due to the inadequate mechanisms in place. If the situation continues, the transportation sector will become even more threatening for both the global environment and human health.
Anar Mammadov
01.12.2021
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