CLIMATE CHANGE

Well done Chris Moss, for facing up to the enormity of climate change and the task we all face in combatting it (MSL, April issue). However, there is an elephant in the room. In fact, there were three of them on the cover of that same issue of MSL – the K1600, Gold Wing and Harley Ultra Limited.

The fact is that our industry of petrol-powered motorcycles simply isn't compatible with a zero carbon future, certainly not at its current scale. That doesn't mean we all have to stop riding, but we've certainly got to change what we ride, how far and how fast. Electric motorcycles are part of that solution. Many studies have shown that the lifecycle emissions of electric vehicles (yes, including recycling the battery) are significantly smaller than those of ICE equivalents. That was confirmed by the latest, from the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering, which compared a Torrot Muvi electric scooter with a Burgman 125.

Electric vehicles are cleaner because their power source is cleaner. In the UK, 43% of our electricity came from renewable energy last year and only a tiny proportion from coal; this will increase as renewables continue to grow. We depend very little on imported electricity (just 7.2% in Q1 last year) and that, too, uses tiny amounts of coal. Yes, the battery recycling industry is in its infancy, but as Chris points out, it is developing fast, as it will have to.

The biggest problem here is not the supposed drawbacks of electric bikes and cars (which certainly aren't perfect), but the world's continuing addiction to petrol and diesel, cheap flights, cheap meat, and full-blown consumerism. Our entire lifestyle is driving climate change, and the only cure is to change every aspect of our lives. I'm hoping that by doing that, I can carry on ICE motorcycling on a small scale in the future. One thing's for sure, we can't go on as we are.

Peter Henshaw

Yes, Peter, you're right to say we need to look at ourselves and change the sort of bikes we ride. However, the much bigger, and more important target has to be cleaning up the very worst polluters such as ocean-going freight, and the fast fashion industry. Unless we do that, converting to electric bikes and cars can only be seen as a gesture to combatting climate change.

Chris Moss