An elegant way to drive change
When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the end of offshore oil and gas exploration more than a year ago, we waited. When the coalition Government laid out its concept of a ‘‘just transition’’, we waited.
Surely, we thought, an administration keen to maximise its ‘‘nuclear-free moment’’ and combat climate change would have a plan in place: as part of that transition it would offer incentives to encourage Kiwis out of their ageing gas guzzlers and into more fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids and electric cars. Weeks turned into months, with only the occasional Nissan Leaf or Prius Hybrid to threaten the narrative. For some, maybe a glimpse of an expensive, elusive Tesla.
Finally the proposal: a ‘‘feebate’’, very similar to an idea put forward by the Productivity Commission last year, which would apply a levy on new and imported cars based on their emissions. The fee for cars with higher emissions would allow discounts on electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as the most efficient petrol-powered cars.
The plan appears practical, maybe even elegant. Transport is second only to agriculture as this country’s biggest polluting sector, in terms of carbon emissions. And light transport is the biggest component of that rise.
The Government’s plan would punish the worst polluters, allowing substantial discounts on more efficient and low-emission models. That should motivate importers and car companies to focus on bringing in more electric vehicles and widen the range. As Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford pointed out, ‘‘it changes
the attitude of what people buy and, as that demand changes, the stock level changes’’.
Critics have lamented the Government’s lack of boldness. They complain that the emissions-based fees should apply to all vehicle sales, not just new cars and imports. But they appear to have missed the point on the long-term behavioural change the Government is trying to create. And the practicalities at play in this country.
California’s state government, under then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was able to strongarm change by enacting stringent emissions laws. The state’s large population and clout practically forced car manufacturers to design more efficient models.
New Zealand doesn’t have Schwarzenegger’s muscle. Or people power. We have one of the Western world’s oldest car fleets, and a large number of consumers unable to buy a good-quality secondhand car, let alone a new one.
Better to start at the entry point to our market, with those cars eventually becoming available for other buyers as they move down and through the national fleet. Hopefully that will include choice as well, and more options than the aesthetically challenged Leaf and Prius. And, as the technology improves, trucks, utes and other commercial vehicles can be included.
However, all of this is largely academic without a serious investment in infrastructure, by the Government, industry or both. Charging stations remain an urban novelty. That is an important next step, especially if the Government hopes to have its feebate running by 2021.
We can’t afford another long wait for progress.
Better to start at the entry point to our market, with those cars eventually becoming available for other buyers as they move down and through the national fleet.