Climate change denialists love to promote arguments like "wind farms wreck the environment" and "EV batteries are full of toxic chemicals and can't be recycled." They base these throw-away lines on isolated issues like lithium mining or local visual impacts. But a global research synthesis I recently came across reveals the truth: electrification, powered by renewable energy, has the lowest environmental impact and the highest positive benefits.
The comprehensive study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, analysed data from 139 studies to quantify the hidden social and environmental costs and benefits of energy. It found that negative externalities - costs borne by society but not reflected in market prices - are much higher for fossil fuels than for renewable energy and EVs.
So, let’s break down the evidence and bust the myths and misinformation.
Fossil Fuels are the Real Environmental Villains
Mining and burning coal, oil and gas generates a host of hidden costs, including pollution, climate change, and health crises. The study showed coal alone generates billions of dollars in external costs each year, mostly due to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. These hidden costs aren't reflected in our electricity bills. But they show up in real ways - through deaths, hospital visits for asthma, extreme weather disasters, and reduced crop yields.
Globally, fossil fuel externalities cost an estimated $11.6 trillion per year. That's 14% of global GDP. It’s money society pays indirectly through mortalities and degraded health, damaged infrastructure, and climate related disasters that are spiraling out of control. Contrast these costs with wind and solar, whose externalities are up to ten times lower.
Despite these facts, fossil fuel advocates and their political allies distort and ignore fossil fuels impacts, choosing instead to criticise renewables for relatively minor impacts as part of their misinformation and mantra to "drill baby drill".
Wind Farms: More Than Just Green Energy
Misinformation on wind farms is that they ruin views, destroy the natural environment, kill whales and birds, and harm biodiversity. But the study challenges this narrative by placing wind energy near the bottom of all energy sources on the negative externalities list. Like all developments, wind farms do have impacts. But their external costs are much lower than those of fossil fuel projects. Furthermore, the study highlights that modern wind farms also have co-benefits, such as providing farmers with additional income and improving local biodiversity when managed well.
Compare that to coal mining and coal-seam gas projects, which scar the land, pollute water tables and waterways, and displace entire communities. The external costs of coal and gas projects are five times higher than those of wind, according to the research.
EVs Are Much Cleaner, Especially Over Their Lifetime
EV critics point to manufacturing emissions and mining of minerals for batteries. But this argument falls apart when we look at the much bigger impacts of internal combustion engine vehicles, particularly from a lifetime perspective. While battery production has an initial carbon footprint, EVs offset this quickly once they hit the road - especially when powered by renewable energy. In comparison, petrol and diesel cars not only produce emissions during their production, but also every time they're driven.
Road transport, still dominated by internal combustion engines, generates huge externalities, including air pollution, traffic congestion, and road accidents. The study found that globally, transport-related external costs add up to $13 trillion annually, with road travel the worst offender. EVs reduce these costs by cutting exhaust emissions, noise pollution, and overall reliance on oil extraction. (Of course, riding a bike or walking is even better.)
Positive Externalities of Electrification
Electrifying transport and energy systems doesn’t just reduce harm; it also creates measurable social and economic benefits. The study calculates that energy efficiency and demand response efforts from electrificiton generate $312 billion annually in positive externalities. These include: improved public health from reduced air pollution; greater energy security by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels; and economic savings for households through lower energy and maintenance costs.
These positive impacts reinforce why electrification is a cornerstone of climate action, sustainability efforts and cost-of-living reductions worldwide.
What Critics Miss About "Wrecking the Environment"
Renewable energy and EV naysayers usually focus on visible and local impacts, like changes to landscapes or the mining of battery materials. What they fail to acknowledge is the global-scale harm inflicted by fossil fuels. Climate change doesn’t just ruin the view - it destroys ecosystems, displaces entire nations, and puts millions of lives at risk through extreme heatwaves, droughts, and sea level rises.
Renewables and EVs aren't perfect. But compared to the existential threat posed by continued reliance on fossil fuels, they’re clearly the better choice. As the study concludes, internalising these hidden costs can drastically alter the energy landscape, making renewables and electrification not only the ethical option but also the most economically sound one. What's good for the climate is good for the wallet.
For the future of our kids and country, we can’t let mischief and misinformation delay the clean energy transition. Fossil fuel advocates will continue to promote the myths, but the evidence is clear: electrification with renewable energy is the path forward. It reduces hidden costs, saves lives, and protects the planet for us and future generations.
So next time someone tells you that wind farms are "ruining the countryside" or that EVs are no better than petrol cars, ask them this: "Compared to what?"
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Thankyou, great bit of writing.