Electric scooters: not so eco-friendly after all?

Electric scooters of providers Tier and Bird are pictured on April 1, 2019 in front of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris. - The market for personal mobility devices (EDP for 'engins de deplacement personnel' in French), like electric scooters, electric unicycles and hoverboards, rose by 32 per cent in value in 2018, and was driven by a strong growth of 76 per cent of the electric scooter market, according to a study published April 1, 2019. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

PARIS: E-scooters touted as zero-carbon urban transport are flooding city streets worldwide, but just how green they are remains an open question. 

The companies – from multinationals to local startups – distributing them insist the omnipresent two-wheel vehicles are a boon for the environment and a curb on global warming.