A new report from the Institute of Public Policy Research suggests that the UK needs 1.7 million plug-in hybrid or electric cars on the roads by 2020.
According to the institute, it is possible for the UK to meet its target for average new car emissions of 95g/km CO2 by 2020, but it needs supported by the right legislation.
The institute advises that the government should switch to a pay-per-mile approach to road taxation as low emission vehicles begin to impact on tax revenues. It estimates that fuel duty will reduce revenues by more than 50 per cent by 2030, equivalent to £10 billion. A shift to greener cars could also harm growth because lower running costs for cars would create greater congestion.
Further recommendations include a ‘feebate’ system which would encourage consumers to buy lower emission cars by paying out a rebate to consumers, while higher emission vehicles would pay an additional fee.
The institute also recommends extending the current £5,000 plug-in vehicle grant to consumers beyond the current spending review period (to 2015) with a budget of £230 million as originally proposed.
IPPR also recommends that we effectively enforcing the current motorway speed limit of 70mph rather than increasing it to 80mph, quoting a Committee on Climate Change (CCC) estimate that this could save 1.3 MtCO2 by 2020.
The report entitled ‘Untying the knot: Decoupling oil and road transport’ concludes that the Gordian knot between oil and transport is now loosening but can be completely unravelled with the right government support for both motorists and industry research and development into low carbon solutions.
