The annual SOT/EUROTOX debate features leading toxicologists presenting contrasting perspectives on a controversial or pressing issue in toxicology. The debate began in the early 1990s and has been a highly anticipated event ever since. This year, the debaters will address the proposition, “Are Electric Vehicles Actually Bad for the Environment? ”The debaters will introduce the issues that should be considered in weighing the costs and benefits of electric vehicles to the environment. Critical to this debate are considerations of emissions, natural resources, energy consumption, cost, and lifecycle. Relevant questions include:

1. What are the most important factors for evaluating the environmental impact of gas versus electric vehicles?

2. What is the environmental impact of electric vehicle batteries?

3. What populations are most impacted in the switch to electric vehicles?

4. How can risk be compared across the entire lifecycle of the materials?

5. How do extraction processes for fossil fuels versus electric vehicle battery materials differ?

In addition to inclusion as a Keynote Lecture at this meeting, this debate took place already (with the debaters having taken the reverse positions) in Orlando, US, during the 2025 SOT Annual Meeting, March 16–20.