Scotland's cars must go 100% electric-powered - says WWF
2 October 2009
Low Carbon Vehicle' consultation closes today
Every new car on Scotland's roads will need to be an electric one in the future if carbon emissions are to be successfully tackled, said WWF Scotland today (Friday 2 October). The environmental group made the call as part of its submission to the Scottish Government's Low Carbon Vehicle consultation, which closes today.
In addition to throwing its weight behind electric vehicles, WWF called on the public sector in Scotland to show climate-leadership and commit to replacing its entire fossil fuel-car fleet with electric vehicles by 2020.
WWF is calling for:
* all new cars on Scotland's roads in the future to be electric ones;
* the public sector to replace its entire car fleet with electric vehicles by 2020;
* further research on how to reduce emissions from HGVs and LGVs (which cannot so easily go electric); and
* money ear-marked for new road-building to be re-directed to sustainable transport options, including electric vehicles.
WWF Scotland's Climate Policy Officer, Dr Sam Gardner, said:
"We welcome this consultation and the attention the Government is giving to low carbon vehicles. Although Scotland’s climate emissions are declining, emissions from road transport are increasing. We therfore need to act quickly if we are to begin to address one of nation's biggest and increasing source of carbon pollution - road vehicles.
"Alongside measures to get people out of their cars, a switch to electric vehicles is going to be an essential part of tackling climate change. Scotland needs to embrace electric vehicles and start planning the infrastructure needed to make it happen.
"When it comes to cars, the future is going to have to be an electric one. To help stimulate the shift away from fossil fuels, we need to see leadership from Government and the public sector and that means setting targets to ensure their entire car fleet is replaced with electric vehicles by 2020. Scotland is well positioned to take a lead in developing the technology that could power the cars of tomorrow, we have an opportunity that must be seized with confidence.
"Although electric vehicles are needed to address climate change, they are no silver bullet to the problem. Ministers must ensure other policy decisions they take do not simply encourage people to drive more and increase traffic levels. Money currently ear-marked for traffic-generating road and bridge building projects should be spent instead on supporting electric vehicles and getting people out of their cars by making public transport, cycling and walking more attractive options.
"Finally, we must remember that electric cars are only as green as the electricity they run on. That is why Ministers must continue to take steps to boost the generation of renewable electricity here in Scotland."
WWF Scotland is currently undertaking research looking at the emissions savings from different levels of future electric vehicle use and the associated infrastructure needs.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] The Scottish Government's consultation on Low Carbon Vehicles closes today.
Consultation available here:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/06/25103442/0
[2] In 2008 WWF published a report showing that cars can remain part of a low-carbon, sustainable transport solution, but only if they are powered by electricity from the grid rather than oil.
'Plugged in: the End of the Oil Age' found that vehicles running solely or partly on electricity supplied from the grid are significantly more efficient and may emit fewer greenhouse gases than many so-called "alternative fuels", even when that electricity is mostly produced using fossil fuels. However, the development of less polluting power generation and more use of renewable energies make it certain that the comparative efficiency and pollution advantages of plug-in transport solutions will improve into the future.
Electric vehicles can be four times more efficient than their internal combustion counterparts. In a conventional mechanical vehicle, only 18-23 per cent of the energy contained in the fuel is converted into motion, whereas electric vehicles make use of up to 75 per cent of electricity taken from the grid.
http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/plugged_in_report.pdf
