Every year, thousands of Brazilian families face preventable tragedy linked to air pollution: a child struggling to breathe with asthma, a parent’s life cut short by respiratory disease. One contributing cause is invisible but pervasive—pollution from the vehicles on Brazil’s roads.

Road transport emissions contribute to thousands of preventable illnesses and deaths each year, with children and older adults bearing a disproportionate burden. Asthma cases linked to road transport pollution are particularly concentrated among children under 5. These long-term health problems carry substantial socioeconomic costs, including healthcare expenditures and missed school and workdays.

This challenge offers Brazil an extraordinary opportunity. Policies that accelerate electric vehicle adoption can simultaneously save lives, reduce social costs, and meet climate commitments. The question is not whether Brazil can afford this transition, but whether it can afford to delay.

The benefits of accelerated electric vehicle adoption

A recent study quantified what Brazil stands to gain if it accelerates the adoption of electric light- and heavy-duty vehicles and electric two- and three-wheelers. It considered an ambitious scenario, in which electric vehicles (EVs) grow to make up 80%–100% of new vehicle sales (depending on the vehicle type) by 2040. The emissions reduction potential of battery electric vehicles is especially high in Brazil, where renewables account for around 90% of electricity generation—translating to very low upstream emissions.

As shown in the table below, the cumulative health and climate benefits are striking. Accelerated EV uptake results in an estimated 6,410 new childhood asthma cases avoided, 4,070 premature deaths prevented, and 68,300 years of life saved. At the same time, this transition would eliminate 590 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions from tailpipes, with total fuel life-cycle emissions reductions reaching 630 million tonnes when accounting for fuel and electricity production.

These numbers would translate into real economic value for Brazil. Using a value of statistical life of 3.6 million to 4.7 million Brazilian reals ($0.7–$0.9 million in 2025 U.S. dollars), the monetized benefits from reduced mortality amount to 8–11 billion BRL ($1.6–$2.0 billion), assuming a 5% discount rate. To put this into context, this would be equivalent to 3%–4% of Brazil’s government expenditure on healthcare goods and services in 2021 (based on 2019 figures adjusted to 2021 values). More importantly, each avoidable death represents an average of 17 years of extended life.

The economic benefits go beyond avoided health impacts. A recent ICCT analysis found that the transition to EVs could create more than 1 million jobs in Brazil by 2050 compared to a business-as-usual scenario. This includes direct job growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors as well as indirect job growth in the services sector.

When benefits arrive matters

The timing of health benefits is closely tied to how quickly EVs replace ICE vehicles on Brazil’s roads. The figure below shows that health benefits scale with the growing share of zero-emission vehicles (battery or fuel-cell EVs). Under an accelerated electrification scenario, EVs could make up half of vehicles on the road by 2040, cutting on-road pollution by roughly half. As EVs replace ICE vehicles, communities see immediate reductions in harmful pollutants like particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. Densely populated cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro would see the largest improvements and are well positioned to set a leading example for the country.

Figure. Annual health impacts in Brazil: accelerated EV adoption vs. business-as-usual

Only battery or fuel-cell electric vehicles eliminate tailpipe emissions

Flex-fuel cars comprise the majority of the fleet in Brazil, but they cannot deliver the same air quality benefits as electrification. Flex-fuel vehicles have no significant benefits over ICE gasoline vehicles in terms of air pollutants that harm human health. Hybrids may reduce these emissions but don’t eliminate them. In contrast, battery and fuel-cell EVs entirely remove tailpipe pollution from city streets—and all places where Brazilians live, work, and breathe

In addition to their air quality benefits, battery electric cars in Brazil produce substantially lower life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than flex-fuel, hybrid, or improved ICE vehicles, delivering dual benefits of cleaner air and reduced climate impact. For example, battery electric cars emit about one third of the life-cycle emissions of gasoline-ethanol flex-fuel ICE vehicles.

Yet despite the advantages of battery electric vehicles for both air quality and climate, a recent ICCT study found that the lack of strong EV policies in Brazil has allowed automakers to prioritize flex-fuel and ICE vehicles. This is in stark contrast with other major markets where policies have driven rapid EV deployment, such as China and the United Kingdom, and risks further delaying the health and climate benefits of the EV transition in Brazil.

The choice ahead

The evidence is clear: accelerated EV adoption could deliver billions in health savings through 2040. Behind these figures are children who will breathe easier, families kept whole, and lives extended.

With vehicle electrification, Brazil can secure a win-win for both health and climate. Every electric vehicle replacing an ICE vehicle delivers immediate air quality improvements while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The global transition to EVs is accelerating. With its clean electricity grid and growing domestic auto industry, Brazil is positioned to lead the way.

Vehicle electrification is underway in Brazil—what remains uncertain is the pace. With automakers increasingly able to supply EVs globally and costs declining steadily, policy choices will determine whether Brazil captures the full health, climate, and economic benefits of this transition, or continues bearing the costs of delaying action.