Meanwhile, Volvo announced its entire range will be electric by 2030, with chief executive Hakan Samuelsson saying: “We’re going to be the fastest in the business to transform to electrification.” The race, it seems, is on.
However, electric cars are only as green as the energy that powers them, so the supply from renewable sources must increase – and quickly.
This may all feel very new, but it is, in fact, a case of back to the future.
But as the combustion engine took over, car sales multiplied and emissions rose, Arrhenius’ work was largely forgotten – until, that is, the 1970s when scientists began to notice the world was getting warmer.