SCRAPPAGE, ELECTRIC CARS AND REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS

I hope that readers have been informed and inspired, as I have been, by the entries on this blog by those who shared their experiences with you during the last seven weeks.

I may share some of my experiences during my holiday in a later blog, but today I would like to focus on the recent financial incentives for car owners, supposedly to reduce carbon emissions.

Modern, fuel efficient cars and electric cars produce less CO₂ whilst they are being driven than older cars. The Government tells us that incentives - of £2,000 for scrapping your old car and of £5,000 for buying an electric car - will benefit all taxpayers through reducing CO₂ emissions.

Is there reliable evidence to support this assumption?

Politicians, and influential people in the motor industry, assure us that this is an effective use of our taxes - but it is not clear how many tonnes of CO₂ will be saved by these generous subsidies.

Some of us may question these assurances as they come from people with a conflict of interest. Should we give them the benefit of the doubt, as an increase in sales in cars will benefit our economy in addition to the environmental benefits? This might be a valid argument if the new car had to be manufactured in our country, but this condition would be contrary to EU law.

It would be legal for there to be a condition that the new car must be more efficient than your scrapped car, but this is not the case: "...£2000 from the government could help you trade in your old Citroen C1 for a new Porsche Cayenne". This quote is from an article by George Monbiot who also notes: "Because between 15 and 20% of a car's emissions are produced during its manufacture, the optimal age for a car... is 19 years... it would make more sense for the government to pay us to keep our old bangers on the road."

A switch to an electric car, if your current car is 19 years old, will not reduce your CO₂ emissions until the National Grid produces significant amounts of electricity from renewable sources. At present the emissions of around 160 grams of CO₂ for a plug in, hybrid car are roughly the same as its petrol-powered equivalent.

So are there more cost effective ways of reducing CO₂ emissions from cars?

A report by the UK Energy Research Centre recommends "...incentivising overall changes in the way people travel by encouraging walking and cycling, for example, and also discouraging the use of cars through taxation or other levies"

Common sense really: to reduce CO₂ emissions from cars we need to change our behaviour: make shorter journeys and use alternative ways of travelling.

Have a good weekend where you live. Walk or cycle for shorter distances (check last week's blog) and chose destinations for longer journeys where you can travel by bus or train or car share. You won't get a handout but you will be making a real difference to CO₂ emissions.