The European Union’s transition toward zero-emission mobility is often presented as a clear and necessary step in addressing climate change. Through its regulatory framework, particularly the CO₂ standards under Regulation (EU) 2019/631, the EU is effectively requiring manufacturers to shift away from internal combustion engines and toward electric vehicles. However, this transition raises an important question: what kind of electric cars are being promoted — and at what environmental cost?
The new generation of vehicles that the EU is pushing manufacturers to produce is defined by one central feature: zero tailpipe emissions. These vehicles are primarily battery electric cars (BEVs), designed to operate without emitting CO₂ during use. They are expected to be more energy-efficient, digitally integrated, and increasingly affordable over time. In regulatory terms, the focus is on fleet-wide average emissions, meaning that manufacturers are incentivized to produce a growing share of such vehicles in order to meet strict CO₂ targets.
Yet, while these cars are “clean” at the point of use, their production tells a more complex story.
At the heart of every electric vehicle lies the battery — and at the heart of most batteries lies lithium.
Lithium is a soft, highly reactive metal that plays a crucial role in modern battery technology due to its ability to store and release energy efficiently. It is essential for lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. However, extracting lithium is far from environmentally neutral.
There are two main methods of lithium extraction. The first involves mining hard rock, where lithium-bearing minerals are extracted through traditional mining processes. This method requires significant energy, generates waste, and can lead to soil and ecosystem degradation. The second method, often used in regions such as South America, involves extracting lithium from brine deposits. This process pumps large amounts of mineral-rich water to the surface and evaporates it over time to isolate lithium compounds.
Both methods come with environmental costs. Lithium extraction can lead to:
- depletion of local water resources, particularly in already arid regions
- contamination of soil and groundwater
- destruction of local ecosystems
- long-term landscape degradation
- social concerns related to local communities and land use
As demand for electric vehicles grows, so does the demand for lithium. The European Union, lacking sufficient domestic reserves, increasingly turns to external sources. Countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Australia are already major suppliers, while countries closer to the EU, including Serbia, are being considered as potential strategic sources.
On the one hand, the EU is introducing regulations such as the EU Batteries Regulation and The Critical Raw Materials Act, which aim to ensure that battery production and resource sourcing meet certain sustainability and traceability standards. These frameworks reflect an awareness that the green transition must extend beyond emissions at the point of use.
On the other hand, the reality of global supply chains raises legitimate concerns. Much of the environmental burden associated with lithium extraction occurs outside the EU, in regions where regulatory oversight, enforcement capacity, or economic leverage may differ significantly. This leads to a critical question: will the EU apply the same environmental and social standards abroad as it seeks to uphold within its own borders?
Without strong and consistently enforced safeguards, there is a risk that the transition to clean mobility becomes uneven. Electric vehicles may reduce emissions within the EU, while the environmental costs of their production are externalized to other countries. In such a scenario, the image of a fully “green” transition risks becoming, at least in part, a matter of perspective.
This does not negate the importance of moving toward cleaner transport. Rather, it highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach — one that considers the full lifecycle of technologies and the global impact of policy choices.
Ultimately, the question is not whether electric vehicles are part of the solution, but whether the system supporting them is truly sustainable. If the European Union is to maintain credibility in its environmental ambitions, it must ensure that its transition is not only clean at home, but also fair and responsible abroad.
The recent wave of EU regulations represents an important step forward, but it also opens the door for further legal and policy development. The gaps identified particularly in relation to resource extraction and the externalization of environmental impacts: suggest that additional measures, as well as the strengthening of existing frameworks, will be necessary. Future regulatory efforts will need to go beyond internal market considerations and address the global dimension of the green transition more directly. Only by building on and refining current instruments can the EU ensure that its green transition is not merely effective within its borders, but genuinely sustainable and equitable on a global scale.