Former Shell Boss: EU should ban cars that get less than 35mpg
It's a strange day when former captains of industry start looking like hippies. Well, it's a strange day today. The former boss of Shell Oil has just launched an outspoken attack on the EU for it's laxity in dealing with car companies. He has called for a complete ban on cars that do less than 35mpg and a firm framework 'to guide the market'.
It's amazing how radical this sounds to those of us who are used to govornment incramentalism on Climate Change. We are constantly hearing of moving towards fleet wide efficiency targets that are relatively modest...why not just make this simple and ban inneficient cars. This way there will be far greater incentive for innovating in the sports car market; that performance wont be available with petrol anymore electric and hydrogen will have to be seriously invested in.
N.B the way this argument develops is very dependent on the way the idea is put. The fact that this guy is a succsessful businesman from an oil company rules out a lot of argument people would usually make. It's interesting how badly this has gone down at the Telegraph, but how much better it has gone down at Autocar...quite amazing actually!
Related:
Coverage by BBC
Coverage by The Telegraph
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It's amazing how radical this sounds to those of us who are used to govornment incramentalism on Climate Change. We are constantly hearing of moving towards fleet wide efficiency targets that are relatively modest...why not just make this simple and ban inneficient cars. This way there will be far greater incentive for innovating in the sports car market; that performance wont be available with petrol anymore electric and hydrogen will have to be seriously invested in.
N.B the way this argument develops is very dependent on the way the idea is put. The fact that this guy is a succsessful businesman from an oil company rules out a lot of argument people would usually make. It's interesting how badly this has gone down at the Telegraph, but how much better it has gone down at Autocar...quite amazing actually!
Related:
Coverage by BBC
Coverage by The Telegraph
Labels: transport
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posted by Calvin Jones @ 10:20 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Mandates are blunt instruments. Suppose I choose to have a car which does 25 mpg but also choose to live near my work and use public transport except for special occasions? The price mechanism -- i.e. a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system which actually adds significantly to the cost of gasoline seems better to me. Please check out my blog http://tonysclimateblog.blogspot.com.
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