It’s not that easy to stop pollution

THE recent Parliamentary Transport Select Committee’s recommendation that all petrol and diesel road vehicles should be converted to electrical traction by 2032 smacks of panic.

A previous recommendation that all such vehicles should be converted by 2042 did seem precipitate at the time given that there are 32 million road vehicles in the UK.

The creation of all electric transport is an ideal goal, but at present the requisite infrastructure of charging points is inadequate. On top of that the government must make the purchase of electric vehicles easier on the pocket.

One option not fully explored in the UK is the hydrogendriven car, At present there are few filling stations in the UK, whereas if you go to California there are sufficient stations to get you from one end of the state to the other. A full tank of

hydrogen will give you a range of 400 miles. Arnold Schwarzenegger had such a car while governor of California.

Unfortunately, two heavy polluters, rail transport and aircraft, did not come within the Committee’s remit. At present the electric aircraft is only in its infancy.

The Big Catch 22, however, is that whether you convert to electrical traction or hydrogen you still involve the use of polluting power stations.

Such is life - two steps forward and one step back. As they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

JACK FLETCHER, Chopwell