When the ideas of car recycling, efficiency and air pollution initiatives are mentioned, it’s probably fair to say that India isn’t the first place that comes to mind. In fact, India has a worldwide reputation for being not only one of the most dangerous places on earth to drive, but a place that has also turned a blind eye to air pollution for much of recent history.
Nevertheless, things have begun shifting quite radically in an entirely different direction as of late. The most recent headline being that if a recent statement from the Indian government proves accurate, every single car sold nationwide will be electric by the year 2030.
Needless to say, an incredibly bold proclamation to make, but why now?
Well, the first and most obvious motivation for the move is of course the air quality. According to the most recent estimates provided by Greenpeace, somewhere in the region of 1.2 million Indians are killed every year as a direct result of air pollution. Incredibly, this is about the same number of deaths as those attributed to smoking cigarettes.
Should the initiative go ahead as planned, the government believes that total carbon emissions in India could be reduced by up to 37% by the year 2030. Great news for those supporting the battle against climate change – even better news for hundreds of thousands of Indians whose deaths may be avoided.
On top of this, there’s also the way in which making the shift to electric cars could potentially save the country around $60 billion annually in energy costs. In addition, the average Indian motorist would also end up better-off long-term. So as far as the government is concerned, it’s an initiative that produces a win-win result for absolutely everyone involved.
Back in the UK
Of course, the idea of switching to electric vehicles as a means by which to tackle air pollution head on isn’t one that has escaped the attention of the UK government. Just a few weeks ago, electric car registrations in the United Kingdom hit their highest level in over a decade. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 EVs currently doing their business on UK roads, with around 1.5% of new car sales going the way of electric cars. There are also approximately 12,700 EV charging locations nationwide.
Unfortunately, this represents a drop in the ocean as far as the bigger picture is concerned.
The numbers appear reassuring, but confirm that 98.5% of all new car sales are still going the way of cars with traditional fuel engines, or hybrid motors. Whichever way you look at it therefore, the idea of Britain becoming an all-EV nation in the near future at least seems farfetched at best.
Still, with every hybrid sale and modern vehicle shipped with a far more eco-friendly engine than those of years gone by, it can at least be said that we are making some kind of progress.
Just, perhaps not quite as rapidly as elsewhere.
