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I mostly agree with your points, but improvements are always good, no? You sound weirdly aggressive about this. I'm also European btw.

I have a feeling they mean regarding rail specifically.

this is just the train version of the "you can't criticize x because children are starving in Africa"

Username fits

No one is really suggesting we get rid of cars for fully rural areas; it's completely impractical, and the cost-benefit ratio is abysmal. It's more about allowing people in cities and suburbs to experience what you already do; being able to go and walk around the area in which they live, have easily accessible green spaces, and unpolluted air to breathe.

This is something that can easily be accomplished without removing your ability to drive around your rural area; interfacing at railway stations or park and rides still allows access to urban spaces for car users.

Transit between distant rural areas could also be accommodated under a public transport system with car share schemes like co-wheels at either end.

It's not about taking away people's cars; it's about making it so the majority of people don't have to own one, so that we can have a more efficient, less polluting transport network.

no one is asking you to. at least I'm not, but the fact of the matter is people in cities are just that, people. people who deserve and are entitled to clean air and the ability to travel within their homes. obviously rural areas require a car because the infrastructure isn't there for public transit and that's okay. look at other countries with robust public transit, people in rural areas still have cars and roads to accommodate whereas people in cities can get anywhere they need to without the use of a private vehicle

Absolutely. Most (~70%)of the emissions over a combustion car's lifetime are from operating it, with the remaining anount being from production and disposal.

As a counterpoint I'll add that the greenness of an EV is totally dependent on the greenness of the energy grid that charges it. If you live somewhere were power generation is decarbonized, emissions from an EV will be an order of magnitude lower than a combustion car per mile. If you live somewhere with dirty power, for example much of the American midwest which is mostly coal powered, an EV can actually produce as much emissions as a gas vehicle, just because of the dirty energy source.

Overall though, grids are decarbonizing around the world (with few exceptions). So more EVs are better than fewer. Of course the best solution to a litany of problems (emissions, congestion, inequality, poor land use) is fewer cars overall.

I charge my car at work. My work has nearly 1500 solar panels on the roof so I think my charging is about as friendly to the planet as I can get.

Definitely