The number of electric vehicles on roads worldwide rose to a record high of 3.1 million in 2017, but more research, policies and incentives are needed to drive further adoption, the International Energy Agency said. The number of electric cars, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric passenger light-duty vehicles, increased by 57 percent compared with 2016, the IEA said in a report. China accounted for 40 percent of the global total last year.

China is both the most-polluting nation on Earth and, at the same time, its biggest producer of “clean” energy. That’s the paradox of this “factory of the world”, which decided several years ago to take on the energy challengeand gradually reduce its use of coal in favor of hydroelectric, wind, solar and nuclear power. China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol met in December, when Birol visited Beijing to discuss China’s