Could environmentally-friendly electric cars save the planet from global warming? Buckle up as Blink takes one for a spin!

A-Z: E for Electric Cars

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16328953/j002-0130-en.srt

They can really help  in the fight against global warming.

They're environmentally-friendly  and don't pollute.

That's if the electricity used  when driving the car

and making it  is from a renewable energy source.

That's my mate Hugues.  We're going for a test drive.

I'd better go  because he's very impatient.

Well Blink, my car  isn't really a sports car.

It can reach about 130km/h,  but it's not a good idea to drive at that speed

as the more you accelerate  and the faster you go,

the faster you'll run down the batteries  that provide the car's energy.

The electric car  is not usable for every use.

If you have a distance  to drive every day

it's probably not the car for you,  but it's not only for cities.

I think also distances of 300km  are possible without any problem.

It's not very complicated. You just have to  plug the car into a special charging station.

The problem is finding one,  there aren't many.

Sometimes you have to drive a long way  to find one available that works.

The European Union wants to have a lot  more charging stations by 2020.

To give you some examples,  I've studied three countries.

In 2011, Poland had 27 charging stations,

And here are the estimates for 2020:  Poland will have 46,000,

If we look at all the countries in the EU  we could have thousands more stations.

This is cool  but I think I need the toilet.

Couldn't you have gone before?  We've just left the garage.

MEPs support the goal of a 60% reduction  in CO2 emissions from transport by 2050.

The electric car could help in achieving this.

It addresses both the environmental  problems of emissions, obviously,

and the economic problems  linked to increased fossil fuel costs.

This solution is going to become  increasingly significant.

Hugues, is it still far?  -Yes, we've still a way to go.

Some are sceptical about the car's future  but I think we have to give it some time.

Technology is getting better  and batteries are lasting longer.

The EU is improving  charging station infrastructure

to encourage investment in technology  and bring down the cost of the car.

Who knows, maybe one day  you'll drive one! Bye!