Petrol and Diesel free by 2040.

In its drive for us to be petrol and diesel free by 2040 only three things should guide the Governments thinking.   
1) Zero emissions at the time you drive;  
2) All parts of a vehicle should be recyclable and their manufacture should be environmentally neutral; 
3) There should be zero emissions in the generation of whatever fuel will power vehicles.   

The one thing the Government must avoid is telling manufacturers it should be electric vehicles.  To legislate so would simply stifle innovation.   Instead, give the challenge. I am sure the creative engineering and scientific talent in the UK will work together and come up with competitive workable solutions.    

Not surprisingly there has been reaction to the government’s thoughts.    

Let’s look at London mayor Sadiq Khan, who instantly reacted to the policy as soon as it was announced:  

“I welcome the strong leadership the ….. government has shown by making the decision to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.”   

Actually, he didn’t say that.  He said that when the French announced an identical policy last month.   What he actually said about the UK policy was:   

“A half-hearted commitment from Government simply isn’t good enough…  The commitment to phase out sales of new diesel cars is welcome, but Londoners suffering right now simply can’t afford to wait until 2040.”   

He’s changed his tune. Funny that.