How will relaxing car rules affect the environment?

The government’s relaxation of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate – the so-called ban on petrol cars – has raised important questions about the public’s reluctance to adopt the electric car as a default choice without substantial tax incentives, currently only available to business users.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Industry pressure has also been important; the announcement of the closure of the

Vauxhall plant at Luton by Stellantis last year was a particular catalyst for the government’s rethink.

The availability of charging points, the upfront cost of going electric, range anxiety and the future of the British automotive industry have all been widely discussed in the context of the looser strictures recently announced. But much less attention has been paid to the environmental impact...

Are the changes helpful in preventing climate change and hitting net zero CO2 emissions by 2050?

No. Other things being equal, having more petrol, diesel or hybrid cars rather than fully electric vehicles on the road necessarily means higher CO2 emissions than would otherwise be the case.

What would make a more profound difference?

Well, the original Labour policy to end sales of all new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2030 would certainly have forced the pace even harder. However, because of some public reluctance to embrace electric cars, it became impractical to penalise companies for the crime of selling motor cars; the distortions were getting too big and too costly.

So it is the public acceptance of EVs that would make the difference. This means:

• Permanently bringing the cost of going electric down and aligning the prices of electric and petrol cars. This is already underway by the manufacturers (and presently, EVs can be much cheaper because of market distortions)