Your views on the new car tax rules

It’s hard to see any sense at all in the new VED system, particularly the exemption for electric vehicles. Granted they do offer benefits in urban pollution, but they only offer significant reductions in CO2 emissions if they are charged with electricity from low pollution sources – renewable or nuclear. As the UK grid is supplied using predominantly fossil fuels, then most electric cars will be nearly as polluting overall as those running on petrol or diesel. Then there’s the CO2 and chemical pollution involved in the manufacture and recycling of the batteries to consider. In the near term, the best hope for CO2 reduction is with hybrid vehicles, which offer much better overall fuel efficiency and have smaller batteries than all-electric vehicles, so they should be the ones that pay the lowest VED in a sensible system. The first-year stage of VED is ridiculous tokenism. The system as a whole shows the government has no real interest in controlling CO2 emissions.

I would be obliged is Which? would stop using the term “pollution” in describing Carbon Dioxide. It is a mild greenhouse gas without which almost no life on earth could survive. In no way can it be described as a pollutant.
The most recent work in terms of assessing climate sensitivity (temperature increase from a doubling of CO2 concentration) using real world data indicates CS is low. Other work shows the value, for example via improvement in the biosphere including agriculture, of atmospheric enrichment of CO2 is to the tune of $140bn/year. Putting these together, for example via Integrated Assessment Models, indicates that the social cost of carbon may be negative, i.e we should be paid to emit it. This is another reason why CO2 is not a pollutant.
If Which? is to keep its credentials as a consumer association basing its finding on empirical testing, then it must remain impartial of the global warming alarm, and ideally stick to science.

I don’t really see that VED, at its present cost, really has much impact on the environment. It won’t deter people buying gas guzzlers, nor I suspect incentivise those buying expensive electric or hybrid vehicles. Fuel is a much more expensive component for most people and if we are intent on looking after the pennies this is where we will look.

At present we leave the choice of using up oil and pushing out noxious emissions to those who have the money to pay. Not a good way of looking after the environment, particularly in town and cities. Money – tax, congestion charges. low emission zones where you can pay extra to use them – should not be a way of enabling you to pollute where you please. Prohibitions applicable to all would be the only fair way. So during peak times, to minimise pollution, we should restrict access to towns and cities to protect the health of all those present. Reducing pollution levels surely should be the aim, not allowing people to pay to cause harm.

As the owner of a hybrid model, as well as trying to do my little bit for the environment, a definite incentive to purchase was the zero-rated VED. Surely, with new research findings, we all need to be encouraged to move away from diesel and high-emission vehicles.? The so-called gas-guzzlers will pay more fuel tax, true, but by and large they pollute more and should not be classed the same as a low-emission vehicle. Penalising owners of cars costing £40,000+ with a £310 supplement based on nothing else than cost is ridiculous and arbitrary as purchasers of these high-end vehicles will successfully haggle to get the price down to £39,999 and some of them my well be low-emission/electric anyway.
With a new administration now in government Which? should be campaigning to have these changes overturned or at least demand a rethink. I intend to lobby my MP on the matter.