Let's get real about EVs' environmental impact, rare metal expert says

TOKYO -- As the world embraces electric vehicles as a solution to carbon dioxide emissions, there is too little discussion of the environmental harm associated with the metals needed to build them, says one of Japan's foremost researchers in the field.

"EVs are supposed to be environmentally friendly, but they are causing environmental problems, and that is a reality that is probably difficult for companies to say if they are aware of it," Toru Okabe, a professor and the director of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science, told Nikkei.