UK Parliament Committee Wants to Ban All Private Cars and Trucks by 2050

If you’re any kind of a car enthusiast, or you just think the personal automobile is a terrific transportation device, this news has got to be chilling. The cross-party Science and Technology Select Committee of Parliament has issued a report that says that if the United Kingdom is to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, private automobile and truck ownership must end.

Oh, and if you think your morally pure Tesla or some other EV is going to protect your privilege for personal transportation, no, the environmental Jacobins are coming for all privately operated motor vehicles.

To start with, the committee report says that, starting in 2035, the government should start banning the sale of all conventionally powered cars and trucks, including hybrids, “at the latest.” That, however, won’t be enough. The committee adds, “The Government should not aim to achieve emissions reductions simply by replacing existing vehicles with lower-emissions versions.”

That means that even pure battery powered EVs have got to go.

It’s quite simple, at least in the eyes of the select committee. You see, the manufacture of even zero-emission vehicles itself produces “substantial” carbon emissions as well engaging in other environmentally harmful practices. The only way to eliminate carbon emissions associated with the manufacture of private automobiles is to eliminate the manufacture, sale, and ownership of those private vehicles.

As the committee report puts it, “In the long-term, widespread personal vehicle ownership therefore does not appear to be compatible with significant decarbonisation.”

There was a time when American car enthusiasts looked to Europe for automobiles that car lovers could desire. Think of all the great British, French, Italian, and German marques. Now, many European cities want to ban cars from urban centers, the European Union wants to put a 112 mph speed limit on all cars, including exotics, and now a select committee of the British Parliament is seriously recommending effectively banning the automobile. William Lanchester, Henry Royce, Charles Rolls, William Lyons, W.O. Bentley, and Colin Chapman must be spinning faster than any of their engines ever did.

The relevant section of the report is below:

Plan for reducing vehicle emissions: The Government must bring forward the date of its proposed ban on the sales of new ‘conventional’ cars and vans to 2035 at the latest, and ensure that it covers hybrids too. In the near-term, the Government must reconsider the fiscal incentives for consumers to purchase both new and used vehicle models with lower emissions. The Government should also work with public services and owners of public land, such as schools and hospitals, to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle chargepoints, and introduce measures to ensure that chargepoints are interoperable, compatible with a smart energy system, reliable, and provide real-time information on their current functionality. Although ultra-low emissions vehicles generate very little emissions during use, their manufacture generates substantial emissions. In the long-term, widespread personal vehicle ownership therefore does not appear to be compatible with significant decarbonisation. The Government should not aim to achieve emissions reductions simply by replacing existing vehicles with lower-emissions versions.

[Image: Harry’s garage/ YouTube]