Why Greens’ car policy leaves many fuming

PREDICTABLY, Eamon Ryan was first out of the traps to welcome the EU ruling that sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars will be banned in 2035.

From that date, all new cars will have to be battery electric models, or possibly run on hydrogen. In short, all will have to produce zero harmful emissions, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxide.

As it happens, our own target for an ICE sales ban is 2030 anyway, so the EU decision doesn’t make any difference. By that date, Minister Ryan’s ambition was to have one million electric cars on our roads, though he has subsequently, er, backpedalled on concrete numbers, for an obvious reason.

Sales of fully electric cars have increased massively in the last decade, from just 49 in 2013 to 15,678 last year. Last month alone, 3,676 were sold.

The problem is that only 105,253 new cars in total left the forecourts last year, so to reach Eamon Ryan’s target, pretty much every new car sold between now and 2030 would have to be electric.

The ambition is not a bad thing, and we all surely want a healthier planet with a viable future, but it also raises huge issues that impact people way beyond the borders of the EU. From 2035, existing ICE cars will have to be modified to run on biofuels made from, among other sources, plants. When biofuels briefly became popular among environmentalists in the United States before the advent of EVs, prices of everyday staples rocketed in Central and South America because land previously used to grow grains for food was instead switched over to growing them to produce fuel.

Today, the cobalt used in car batteries is mined almost exclusively in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has four-fifths of the world’s reserves. Africa has much to fear from climate change, so a switch to electric driving in Europe undoubtedly has benefits for that continent too. The problem is that cobalt is mined not only by adults, but by children, many trafficked, who work for the equivalent of a few euro a day.

So long as those of us in the developed world can salve our consciences by driving EVs, though, such harsh realities seem to be casually overlooked by the Green Party.

Then there is the practical impact of implementing this policy. Only two EVs on the Irish market cost under €30,000, namely the Fiat 500e at €24,995, and the MG4 at €27,495. Meanwhile, you can pick up a petrol Dacia Sandero for just €15,890.

EVs costing less than €60,000 qualify for a €5,000 grant, so if that policy were ever to be reversed, only the Fiat would cost less than 30 grand, and even then by only a fiver.

There are multiple other costs involved. EVs attract motor tax at the low rate of €120, whether you’re buying a Fiat 500e or a Mercedes-Benz EQS. Vehicle registration tax is levied at a lower rate too, and here’s an eye-watering example of the effect that can have on the bottom line for the Revenue Commissioners. Two years ago, I drove the BMW M3 Competition, which at the time cost €128,361. The VRT alone generated by the sale of that car was a whopping €48,714. This week, I’m driving the fully electric BMW i7 car. The model I’m in costs €138,303, but the VRT generated at the lower rate applied to EVs is only €8,906, less than a quarter of the VRT on the petrol car.

These numbers are mirrored all the way down the scale, and the more electric cars we buy, the lower the revenue from motor tax and VRT. That money will have to be made up somewhere and only a fool would bet against some form of usage tax in the future, so that the more you drive, the more you pay.

And while all of this is on the table, and the cost of entry to driving becomes ever higher, we still have a Green Party that has not pushed nearly hard enough for better public transport options, especially in rural areas. I won’t bore you again with all the details, but if I want to get from home to Gorey, a little over 10km away, on a bus, there are three in the morning to connect with trains to Dublin and Wexford, and three in the evening to bring the commuters home.

If I want to pop to the shops during the day, or to get a haircut, or even just to have lunch, I have no option but to drive.

For senior Green politicians, living in leafy suburbs where everything they need is a walk or a cycle away, it is easy to come down hard on motorists – and they like to lead by example, being photographed on their bikes.

BUT leading by example should apply to everything. Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe at least made a point of taking the ferry to Europe to attend the parliament, but this week, we learned that three Green ministers will not only fly abroad for St Patrick’s Day, but will make what are among the longest journeys.

Eamon Ryan is off to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, a trip that will warrant at least six flights. Catherine Martin is going to Los Angeles and San Diego. And Roderic O’Gorman, who is so busy trying to get a handle on the refugee accommodation crisis he should not be going anywhere at all, is jetting his way to India.

Ireland’s soft power is important, and St Patrick’s Day is a wonderful calling card, so the junkets, of themselves, are not the issue. The issue is the stark reality that so much Green policy seems to boil down to one thing – do as I say, not as I do.