Will the Government ban cars?

Thomas Anderson and Jonathan Boston write:

The new Labour-led Government has committed to introducing a zero carbon bill later this year. But how should the aims of such legislation be achieved?

One option is to rely primarily on an expanded and improved emissions trading scheme. This approach will, many argue, ensure a higher price on carbon and this will, in turn, reduce emissions.

Yet recent evidence, both here and overseas, suggests that governments are unwilling to impose a sufficiently high price on carbon to secure a large fall in emissions. If this reluctance persists, other policy instruments – or so-called complementary measures – will remain essential.

I’m all okay with a price on carbon, but so called complementary measures tend to be politicians dictating what people can and can’t do.

A price mechanism is the best response to the external cost of greenhouse gases.

Of such measures, perhaps the most effective would be a ban on the sale of all new or imported used vehicles with internal combustion engines. Such a ban could take effect, say, from 2030.

If the Government tried to ban non electric cars, watch them get thrown out of office. Such a policy would also massively hit poorer families who can’t afford an electric vehicle.