Tag Archives: vehicle emissions

Electric cars are not a silver bullet, but they’re a start

By Jack Clark | Fri 26th June 2020 - 9:54 am

Electric cars are a phenomenon. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, sales of electric and Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) increased by 131.8% and 13.8% respectively in the year to May 2020. This figure is expected to keep on going as infrastructure improves and battery technology becomes easier to manufacture, more efficient, and, most importantly, cheaper. Layla Moran MP also wrote to Rishi Sunak this week calling for electric vehicles to be exempted from VAT, which would help bring down prices and increase sales even further.

This is surely great news: no or little (in the case of PHEVs) tailpipe emissions means that we can reduce air pollution levels sufficiently and help bring about an end to the climate crisis. Presently, emissions from passenger vehicles make up 21% of all the UK’s CO2 emissions according to the latest figures from 2018 and have increased by 6% on average since 1990. Although road traffic increased by 28%, any increase is a worry and needs to be combated if we are to bring an end to the climate crisis.

Lockdown has also had a profound effect on emissions. In the UK, emissions dropped by 31% by mid-May, better than the global average of 26%. While this is welcome, and many people will have noticed the fresher air in urban areas, this is only temporary. A report by Rohit Chakraborty of the University of Sheffield found that emissions have risen by double digits in the first fortnight in June – in Bradford as much as 116%. Therefore, it is clear that lockdown is an outlier and a very brief dip in our ever-increasing carbon emissions.