Green drive demands more carrot, less stick

The only surprise about the latest car-market figures is that anyone is still buying diesel vehicles at all, given the extra taxes loaded on them. Sales fell by 36 per cent in January, amid deepening embitterment among motorists about the mixed messages from the Government. Many bought diesel cars because they produce less CO2. Buyers thought they were doing their bit for the planet, only to be told that the particulate emissions were unacceptable, effectively rendering the cars unsaleable.

The perverse incentives here mean that motorists will hang on to their older cars for longer, rather than buying a new vehicle that would be better for the environment. The inevitable knock-on effect is that manufacturers sell fewer cars and close factories, laying off staff.

To offset the war on petrol and diesel, carmakers are increasingly producing hybrid cars. While diesel- and petrol-driven sales were falling, new registrations of hybrid electric cars climbed by 21 per cent in January, and demand for plug-in hybrid electric cars more than doubled.

Yet motorists who have switched to these – again with the best of green intentions – are now told that this is wrong, too. The Government is saying that the sale of new hybrids will be banned within 15 years because they are not really green after all. This policy see-sawing is backfiring badly with a public that wants to do its bit for the environment.

We acknowledge that a move to non-carbon transport is inevitable and in many ways welcome, since it is less polluting. But the country has to be brought along with the policy, not bullied by virtue-signalling politicians who seek a good headline without explaining the consequences of their policies to the public.

As we said yesterday, this debate must be framed in terms of opportunities and incentives, not fear and loathing. There is a great deal of goodwill in this country toward environmental goals, but it is rapidly being used up by confused messages – and not just about cars, but recycling as well.

When people are told to do one thing one day and another the next, they rapidly lose trust in those delivering the message, most of whom will not be around to take the flak when their unfeasible targets are missed. To make the move to net zero carbon by 2050, the Government needs to demonstrate that it has a plan to achieve its ambitions and take the country with it.