The Green Party wants the Government to scrap road tax for a tax on car usage.
The party claims that charging the most polluting vehicles with a flat tax will do nothing but enrage motorists and discredit the aim of green taxes, which is to change behaviour by actively rewarding more environmentally friendly behaviour
Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP today urged the Government to reward responsible motorists by abolishing the Road Tax, and shift the responsibility onto gas-guzzlers through the fuel duty.
Dr Lucas said “Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling clearly don’t understand the uses and mechanisms of green taxation. Charging the most polluting vehicles with a flat tax will do nothing but enrage motorists and discredit the aim of green taxes. The flat road tax on vehicle ownership takes no account of road usage, and provides no incentive or reward for making less polluting travel choices. A far fairer alternative would be to scrap it altogether and move the responsibility solely onto fuel tax, so that those who choose to drive cars with large engines and are heavy road users will pay considerably more than those who choose to drive smaller, more energy efficient cars and use public transport more often.”
From research conducted for the Green Party, the total cost of motoring fell by 4 per cent since 2005.
Dr Lucas continued: “The answer is to remove the argument about road tax increases in one swipe, and introduce a scheme that rewards those who use less fuel.
Does Alasdair Darling have the foresight to scrap the road tax altogether and introduce the fairer and more equitable fuel duty?”
Simon McBride

 If Arnold Schwarzenegger tells you to do something, you better listen - and now he has warned automobile manufacturers in the USA to jump on the green car bandwagon before they ‘terminate’ the industry.

The California Governor joined representatives from 13 other states in urging car manufacturers to make cleaner vehicles.

In a statement issued after meeting with the board of directors of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Schwarzenegger said: “Automakers need to have long-range vision and develop the technology that will make them competitive in the world arena.

“I believe there is an opportunity for us to be strong allies. In fact, California may be doing more to save the US auto industry than anyone else because we are pushing them to change.”

Schwarzenegger pointed to high demand among American drivers as a reason why car manufacturers must adjust their approach. He stated that the Government cannot take the concept where it needs to go on its own, and that only technology can “save the auto industry and the environment”.

California, along with the 13 other states, has proposed stricter limits on gas emissions but Schwarzenegger has told manufacturers that hiding behind these standards will not work as they will not effectively reduce pollution.

Schwarzenegger said: “Today, I made it clear to the automakers that California will not back down in the fight to protect our own environment by regulating pollution that causes global warming. We will continue to press the US Environmental Protection Agency to grant our request for a waiver, and we will use legal remedies if they fail to do so.”

Land Rover runs a programme which aims to offset the CO2 emissions of their high-emitting vehicles. One such programme is being run in Uganda at the moment and TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk took a deeper look into it to see if it is indeed a credible effort to counter their cars’ CO2 emissions of merely a publicity stunt.

The forests of Uganda are disappearing at an alarming rate, the main cause being the populations’ need for charcoal to cook with. Land Rover is helping to provide the Ugandans with more efficient stoves that will not fully stop, but certainly decrease deforestation.

Land Rover, supported by the Ugandan Stove Manufacturers Ltd, has launched a community project in Kampala which has lead to the development of a stove that burns wood as opposed to charcoal. It retains its heat for longer is will use less fuel (wood). The cost of the stove is £3 and Land Rover has offered interest free loans to families who would benefit. The expected saving of £22 a year on charcoal will hopefully also lead to financial benefits.

The hopes are that the rate deforestation caused by the need for charcoal will decrease as the wood-burning stoves take over. The project has already been a success, selling 200 stoves per day since 2005 and this has lead to the reduction of 8,732 tonnes of emissions.

This is undoubtedly a scheme that is helping both the Ugandans and the planet but it does seem to raise the question - Are we forcing other countries do change their way of life just so that we can carry on driving high-polluting vehicles?

In Land Rover’s defence, the development of the 120g/km LR-X does show that their commitment to greener motoring does seem serious.

Jatropha, the wild African perennial is being hailed as a possible solution to the biofuel headache. Its small seeds are dried and crushed to harvest their oil as a biofuel and can be used in almost any diesel engine without the need for modifications. But is it really the wonder plant it is promoted to be?

To acknowledge its virtues, we must admit certain advantages it has over traditional biofuel crops such as palm oil and rapeseed. To begin with it is extremely hardy, it can grow virtually anywhere. As such it does not compete with food crops because does not need to be grown on traditional fertile farmland or displace food crops.  It grows in the most arid of conditions and can yield seeds for up to fifty years. It requires little to no irrigation. It is also inedible, as such using it as biofuel is not depriving vulnerable communities of a valuable food source. The plant is also said to actually improve the quality of the soil it grows in and requires little fertiliser. Like all biofuels, whilst growing, it absorbs CO2 meaning CO2 neutrality when burnt as a fuel.

However it is still a relatively wild plant, its productivity is low and difficult to stabilise. Yields vary widely from year to year.  One hectare of the oilseed plant would produce a mere two tonne of oil. Not to mention it is highly toxic and requires careful handling by farmers. Ingesting just three seeds from small fruit is enough to kill, sap from its bark stains skin and can irritate for days. As the seeds are crushed to harvest oil they release toxic vapour. Crops ripen at different times making harvesting labour intensive and slow. Farming the plant could be dangerous and unpleasant.

There is greenhouse gas emissions such as NOx and other particulates to consider too. Encouraging reliance on biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels has long been a concern for environmental groups. Growing biofuel crops such as Jatropha would serve the interest of wealthier nations and not necessarily help poorer countries. The buying power of western countries could still theoretically lead to the displacement of food crops.

Greenpeace scientist, Paul Johnston echoed this unease;

“Sustainability of our energy production is the most important thing and we must not get side-tracked by short term or false solutions. Ultimately we need to reduce our energy consumption and face up to the fact that transport industry needs to meet the challenge of climate change.”

Despite concerns, claims are that Jatropha biofuel could be in UK diesel by next year.

www.greenpeace.org.uk

Faye Sunderland

Green car enthusiasts will doubtless have heard the arguments before - how green can your green car be if it needs to be plugged in and use fossil fuels that contribute to global warming? However, are these thoughtful comments or misleading generalisations?

At Carnegie Mellon University a study has been released entitled Environmental Science and Technology which attempts to address this issue and concludes that yes, electric cars and self-charging hybrids are more efficient than conventional vehicles.

The study looked at the average greenhouse gas emissions of electrics, hybrids and conventional cars. The electric vehicles produced a 5% reduction compared to hybrid cars and a 32% reduction compared to conventional vehicles. In areas where fossil fuels, such as coal, are still dominant in power generation, hybrids had the advantage over electrics but both were still significantly ahead of conventional cars.

It is hoped that as energy production in itself becomes more efficient, this will in turn reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles placing them as a significant leader in the race to be classed as the ‘greenest of the green’.

What’s clear however is that all environmental issues cannot be addressed in one swoop. Neither electric cars nor hybrid cars are the perfect solution for the planet. Nevertheless, both represent a vast improvement on their fuel guzzling alternatives and therefore should be welcomed by environmentalists as the best solutions available - for now.

Links: Carnegie Mellon University

Land Rover is a brand that does not often get mentioned in the same sentence as “green”, “low CO2″ or “environmentally-friendly”. Land Rover is keen to change the publics perception of their brand and have announced their plans to help combat climate change.

The Land Rover Fragile Earth commitment is an ongoing approach to ensure their actions have a lower impact on the environment. In 2006 Land Rover launched a CO2 offset scheme combining investment in sustainable technologies and working hand-in-hand with global conservation and humanitarian organisations. The investment in sustainable technology is expected to reach £700m over the next five years.

Possibly the most eagerly expected and exciting prospect from Land Rover is the LRX Concept, a 4×4 with emissions of only 120g/km.

For more information on Our Planet and Land Rover’s proposed steps to battle climate change, visit http://www.landrover.co.uk/gb/en/Company/Sustainability/ourplanet.htm

Korean maker Kia has been developing vehicles with hydrogen power as it is keen to show its green conscious.
The company has a secret Research and Development site near Mabook in Seoul.
The site is jointly run by Hyundai and was constructed in 2005 at a cost of $60 million, and according to the marque will be the leading factory of international fuel cell development by 2010.
Kia has already developed a Sportage Fuel Cell vehicle and a purpose-built hydrogen refuelling station on site. Power in the Sportage comes from a 100kw fuel cell linked to three electric motors and a 76-litre tank stores hydrogen at 700 bar. The vehicle has a top speed of 105mph and can get from zero to 62mph in 10 seconds while it has a range of 373 miles on a full tank.
Kia has confirmed that the car will go into production but there has been no time frame given as yet.
Simon McBride

The new Peugeot 308 is to get ‘six’ appeal with new manual and electronically controlled six-speed gearboxes and it’s green.
This car’s eco-friendly credentials are good too – seven of the range’s models emit only 120 g/km of CO2.
The manual option is available on the S, Sport and SE HDi 110 models.
While the electronically controlled manual gearbox, which removes the need for a clutch pedal, provides a genuine alternative to a traditional manual gearbox. This gearbox will appeal to drivers who like to change gear manually, but also enjoy the stress-free driving provided by ‘automatic’ gear changes.
The remaining new ‘box is a six-speed automatic fitted to the 2.0 litre HDi 136 diesel engine.
It has Tiptronic” sequential control will appeal to customers who are particularly keen on convenience and ease of use, while still having the option for more active driving in the sequential mode. It will be available only as a five door model in SE trim.
More powerful options are offered. The Peugeot 308 Sport version also sees the introduction of two new engine options. One petrol, the 1.4 litre VTi 95 and the other the 1.6 litre HDi 90. Both models become the entry power plants for the Sports range.
The hatchback range starts from £12,295 and is available now.
Simon McBride

Research conducted by the European Commission has raised doubts over the EU reaching its proposed target of increasing the share of biofuels in transport fuels from 2% to 20%  by 2020.

The largest doubt is whether the potential deforestation caused by the production of biofuels could wipe out any benefits gained from vehicles running on the product.

This is not a new concept but one that many motorists are still not implementing. The carbon footprint of the UK could be cut by as much as 5 million tonnes by educating the motorist into taking better care of their tyres.

In financial terms, the setting of tyre pressures at the correct level would save £1 billion a year due to the combined effect of higher rolling resistance on fuel consumption and shorter tyre life.

Visit www.etyres.co.uk for more details