Govt treads softly on car ban
Initiatives to help encourage people to make the switch to EVs
The Government will not f oll ow t he UK and France’s lead in banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2040, opting instead to incentivise the switch to electric vehicles, says Transport Minister Simon Bridges.
The initiative was launched in the UK on Wednesday after High Court judges ruled the Government was breaking the law by allowing concentrations of nitrogen dioxide to build up in urban areas.
From 2040, drivers will be able to buy electric vehicles only — ending the near 150-year reign of the internal combustion engine.
From around 2020, town halls will also be allowed to levy extra charges on diesel drivers using the UK’s 81 most polluted routes if air quality fails to improve. Diesels might even be banned at peak times.
A similar scheme was introduced in France earlier this month as the country seeks to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord.
The New Zealand Government has opted for a different tack, with Bridges saying it did not believe in measures like banning combustion cars, but instead opted for “encouraging growth [in the number of electric vehicles] using a range of incentives to grow demand”.
“The Government has an ambitious electric vehicle programme with the aim to double the size of the electric vehicle fleet in New Zealand every year to reach 64,000 electric vehicles by 2021,” Bridges said.
“The Government has a number of initiatives to help encourage people to make the switch, one being the exemption of electric vehicle owners paying road user charges, saving them around $600 a year.”
Bridges added that electric vehicles were the future and a move from petrol and diesel to low-emission transport was “a natural evolution”.
“It’s our aim to encourage that switch sooner, rather than later.”
In the UK, nitrogen dioxide levels emitted by diesel cars are reported to have been above legal limits in almost 90 per cent of urban areas since 2010. The toxic fumes are estimated to cause 23,500 early deaths a year and the problem was declared a public health emergency by a cross-party committee last year. UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove has warned that Britain “can’t carry on” with petrol and diesel cars because of the damage they are doing to people’s health and the planet.
However, the AA warned that the UK’s National Grid would be under pressure to “cope with a mass switchon after the evening rush hour”, while Which? Car magazine warned that electric cars were currently more expensive and less practical.
According to a National Grid report, peak demand for electricity could add around 30 gigawatts to the current peak of 61GW — an increase of 50 per cent.
National Grid predicts Britain will become increasingly reliant on imported electricity, which will rise from around 10 per cent of total electricity to about one third, raising questions about energy security.
For some in the auto industry, the plans are too much too soon.
“We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t allow enough time for the industry to adjust,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. “Outright bans risk undermining the current market for new cars and our sector, which supports over 800,000 jobs across the UK,” he said.
But for activists and opposition politicians, the new targets are not ambitious enough. “This is a cynical move by the government to grab the headlines by announcing changes for 23 years’ time and failing to enact measures which will curb pollution in UK towns and cities now,” said Oliver Hayes, Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner.
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