Ban on new petrol/diesel cars by 2030 - AIBU to be excited?

[almostautumn]

The government are set to announce a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. As someone who lives in a polluted city (London) and worries about the effect that carbon emissions are having on my family’s health, I’m so excited by this news because I think it will really change our children’s lives for the better. And it’s fantastic that it’s only 10 years away!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54981425

One fact that no one can deny is that the premium coke for the batteries comes from refining oil. I know this as I work on a refinery and we sell it to China to make the batteries. Considering we are in the UK it's already a high carbon footprint to do that! If demand up scales then this also will do meaning more fossil fuels refined!

@JacobReesMogadishu

I read something a while ago about hydrogen cars, that these may be the solution rather than electric cars. Sounded like we’re at the Betamax vs vhs battle of the 1980s so will be interesting to see what happens.

I don’t know much about them but the article said they’re greener than electric cars and also talked about hydrogen filling stations which sound better than having to hang about charging a car.

I remember an advert years ago about a hydrogen car-I think it was Honda? I can't find it on YouTube but do have the diesel ditty stuck in my head now!

No way will electric cars ever have enough grunt to get up our hills in winter

An electric car generally has more grunt than an equivalent ICE car. Don’t forget, they produce maximum torque from zero RPM. Go drive a Tesla and then tell me it has no grunt

I don't live in London but I don't see this as a London issue at all.

I think it is a London issue in the sense that even though we have excellent public transport, there are still thousands of cars on the road, belching out emissions. So many of us have to walk our children to school every day along dangerously polluted streets.

@Bionicname

Caveat - I am no engineer and maybe this idea is perfectly ridiculous - but I have been wondering if a lot of the charging problems couldn’t be resolved by building the batteries so they can be swapped out.

So you don’t need a dedicated charging point with enough space to park a car, you just take out the battery pack and plug it into a socket. If you need it, you could have 2 packs to swap between so one is always fully charged.

The batteries in current EVs make up approximately a third of the price of the cars. So, that Kia someone recommended up thread? Starts at GBP36,495.00, so you’ll need an extra GBP12,000.00 for your second back up battery......

I can imagine the parking wars in built up areas with no drives!! Plus the compensation claims from pedestrians tripping over wires trailing along streets, plus kids unplugging or cutting them for a "laugh". Coming outside to find your car hasn't charged..just what you need at 6am in January before you start work.

I'm sure it will work wonderfully in certain areas, and be impossible for the rest.

@Bakeachocolatecaketoday it’s not fake news unfortunately, each element in the build comes from various locations around the world and it’s all in how the UK government records the carbon: it doesn’t record a lot of the carbon involved.

I don't believe the British government will be able to carry it off so it won't happen, too much investment and logistical planning required, not to mention too many political donors heavily invested in fossil fuels, I will eat my hat if it happens, it's all for show.

This Government won't be in power to make these changes by then. The ban won't be popular - if it were the Green Party would be in power already.

Car batteries are an environmental disaster waiting to happen.
However seeing as they will be made in china and India - who cares! As long as we have clean emissions.

DH knows a lot about batteries, I’ll be vague, he says the chemicals that go into them are horrendous. He said he would never own one.

It must because I live in the SE, but I hadn't realised that for a lot of people the only electrical supply goes to street lighting, and not to peoples homes. If it did, then they could of course charge their car there.

We have recently switched to a model x Tesla, anyone who thinks it won’t happen needs to go drive a Tesla.

300+ miles range, 30 min super charger wait time if you need it which is made easy by stopping for a coffee. If you don’t want to leave your car you can watch an abundance of entertainment options in the car, with the worlds biggest screen. The car is beyond any tech currently out there. Drives itself reliably on big main roads, America is working on full self drive but not sure we will get it here for a while due to our complicated roundabouts.

But I diverge, the main point is using it doesn’t compromise on anything but expense in buying the thing at the first point.

Go drive a Tesla and then tell me it has no grunt

Is that representative of the electric cars most people can afford though?

Wow, love that some people are suggesting walking or cycling as an alternative. 50 miles each way is a little long for that! Though I do agree for very local trips where possible.

@JacobReesMogadishu

I read something a while ago about hydrogen cars, that these may be the solution rather than electric cars. Sounded like we’re at the Betamax vs vhs battle of the 1980s so will be interesting to see what happens.

I don’t know much about them but the article said they’re greener than electric cars and also talked about hydrogen filling stations which sound better than having to hang about charging a car.

Oh yes, I can just envisage being flash-burned alive in a ball of white flame after a minor prang. Ok, I’m joking, but point being there’s an even bigger PR issue to be overcome with hydrogen cars than there is with electric.

DH knows a lot about batteries, I’ll be vague, he says the chemicals that go into them are horrendous. He said he would never own one.

Gosh, it must be difficult in this day and age to go without batteries, no mobile phone, tablet, laptop etc. Did you send your post in by telegram?

I’ve had a little chuckle to myself about all the ‘it’s great for London, sod the rest of us’ comments. I’m certain that if the government had announced that all sales of new P and D cars will be banned in London, Manchester and Birmingham (i.e major cities only), those same posters would be ‘why do the government only care about the lungs/health of people in London?!!’

Not really.

YABU. This is being forced simply to help London when the country needs thinking about as a whole.

We have recently switched to a model x Tesla, anyone who thinks it won’t happen needs to go drive a Tesla.

That's great, but surely you can acknowldge that a Tesla is unaffordable for the vast majority of people?

I have concerns about infrastructure planning. Making the huge assumption that the government puts sufficient charging points in place for the resident population here, what will happen when the tourist population flood here in the summer and other holiday times? Huge queues for few charging points?

I think this is a reasonable question as other services ( eg health) are all based on resident population and struggle a lot in holiday season.

No electric vehicle can tow a caravan or horse box for more than 20 miles before it needs re-charging. That's several million caravanners and horse riders who won't be able to switch.

We have recently switched to a model x Tesla, anyone who thinks it won’t happen needs to go drive a Tesla.

It's over £80,000!

😂😂

The good news is we will still be in lockdown then, so the absolute headache of how everyone is going to charge their cars won’t be an issue.

😂😂

Or should that be 😭😭

It works out at around £3.50 per 100 miles compared to a petrol vehicle which would be around £20

100 miles in the vast majority of petrol cars around today does not use 20 pounds worth of petrol!

I can do 420 miles on a tank which costs me 40 pounds.