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Low carbon cars at centre of policy debate

Tue 25 April 2006 View all news

With climate change already high on the political agenda, low carbon road transport has come into the spotlight with an opposition proposal to reduce average new car CO2 emissions to 100g/km by 2022.

Announcing a “new agenda for cleaner, greener transport”, David Cameron said: "To help tackle climate change, we must be for greener cars, not anti-car. Today, many families want to become greener, and they're looking for more options to go green. We should help them." The announcement proposes that the headline target could be met through a combination of measures including: differential rates of vehicle excise duty, an expansion of the existing company car tax scheme and exemptions from parking and congestion charges. The announced intention would be for these measures to have a revenue/cost-neutral impact. Further measures would also make it easier for people to walk and cycle on short journeys and improve public transport. The Conservatives say that a more detailed, long-term incentive package will be delivered by the Party’s ‘Quality of Life’ policy group.

The proposed target of 100g/km average new car CO2 emissions is complemented by a similar target for overall fleet average CO2 emissions to fall to 100g/km by 2030.

In its recent submission to the Environmental Audit Commission, the LowCVP presented evidence of the need for stronger incentives to encourage the purchase of low carbon vehicles, along with more responsible vehicle use, to reduce road transport greenhouse gas emissions. The LowCVP also argued in favour of long-term targets for road transport CO2 emissions.

The opposition proposal followed a speech by Gordon Brown to UN ambassadors in New York in which he emphasised the importance of “green growth”... especially in the area of climate change... “the greatest of the environmental challenges we face”.

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Low carbon cars at centre of policy debate

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