THE government has begun discussions to see if the UK can become the first G7 country to reach a net-zero emissions target by 2050.
Nothing wrong with that at all and Visordown are all for it, but does allowing zero-emissions vehicles to use green number plates help, or is it a waste of taxpayer’s money?
The idea behind the scheme is to help raise awareness as to the number of ‘green’ vehicles there are already on the roads. We guess that by doing this, regular petrol using motorists wouldn’t feel so out of place if they did make the switch.
Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps MP seems to think so, even going as far as to say it could help to ‘turbo-charge’ the race to zero-emission roads in the UK. He said: “The UK is in the driving seat of global efforts to tackle vehicle emissions and climate change and improve air quality, but we want to accelerate our progress. Green number plates are a really positive and exciting way to help everyone recognise the increasing number of electric vehicles on our roads. By increasing awareness of these vehicles and the benefits, they bring to their drivers and our environment, we will turbo-charge the zero-emission revolution.”
A statement on the DfT website accompanies the news. It reads: “As the UK moves at pace towards net-zero emissions, the initiative aims to raise awareness of the increasing number of zero tailpipe emission vehicles on UK roads, help their drivers to benefit more easily from local incentives like free or cheaper parking and encourage greater uptake of new vehicle technology.
“Through the introduction of green number plates, local authorities would have a useful visual identifier should they wish to introduce incentives to promote the use of zero-emission vehicles, such as allowing these drivers to use bus lanes and to pay less for parking. A similar scheme was trialled in Ontario with drivers of electric vehicles given free access to toll lanes and high occupancy vehicle lanes. Ontario saw an increase in electric vehicle registrations.”
So, the ‘Road to Zero Stratergy’ is in full swing and it’s costing UK taxpayers £1.5b. Are green number plates for electric and zero-emission vehicles a clever use of a chunk of this money, or a complete waste of it?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
