UK rejects EU call for city centre ban on petrol cars

[Gerald]

The UK has rejected proposals from the EU which call for a ban on petrol and diesel cars from city centres by 2050.

The European Commission said phasing out "conventionally fuelled" cars from urban areas would cut reliance on oil and help cut carbon emissions by 60%.

But UK Transport Minister Norman Baker said it should not be "involved" in individual cities' transport choices.

"We will not be banning cars from city centres anymore than we will be having rectangular bananas," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12879566

Note: 28 March 2011 Last updated at 13:42 GMT

[TarJak]

Top Gear FTW!

[Gerald]

EU, busybody too often, so that the UK does not want a ban are several reasons for it and the EU is already so bureaucratic presented to them in many cases no basis for its statement

[Gargamel]

Originally Posted by TarJak

Top Gear FTW!

HA! that was my first thought... I can't wait for Clarkson's view on this!

[STEED]

What the hell do I care, I've be too bloody old or dead to give a damn.

Bring it on.

[Feuer Frei!]

2050? Realistic?
And why not?
Just because the Poms don't want to, so what?

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by STEED

What the hell do I care, I've be too bloody old or dead to give a damn.

Bring it on.

Yes,you and David C can solved this

[STEED]

Bomb the EU Parliament problem solved.

[Gerald]

It would be "able" mean that I get more work, so another idea must be submitted by legitimate means, of course

[jumpy]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

2050? Realistic?
And why not?
Just because the Poms don't want to, so what?

Try building the infrastructure required to support business and peoples homes and access to city centres over here and see how far you get - quite apart from the total lack of any money to complete such projects, the whole way the city economy works currently is just not compatible with pie in the sky ideals such as this.

Plus there's the 'way things are done' ...I'd quite like to work from home; I have all the facilities to manage working from home as a draughtsman, but this will never happen. Reason being, most companies, and bosses for that matter, just wouldn't do it, never mind the saving they'd make on office rental space and a myriad other costs associated with having employees travelling to and working from a central building somewhere, they just wouldn't go for it.

Environmental issues and their solutions for the conurbation are much more socially complex than an arbitrary benchmark for reducing emissions, issued by a bunch of overpaid eurocrats.
Better off talking to china first. No matter what everyone else does in regards to reducing carbon emissions, it'll be a complete waste of time on a golabal scale (and that's really the only scale that matters here) if the chinese and other rapidly developing industrial nations follow the path we made, before things like global warming were even heard of. This, of course, brings the inevitable 'well you built all of your industry and manufacturing the cheap and dirty way, so why should we have to do it any differently, and importantly, more costly than you?' I'm sure some countries would view such strictures as a means of keeping them down on the world stage and not as a means to reduce whatever climate change is happening.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by STEED

Bomb the EU Parliament problem solved.

Steed Akhbar.

Question. If Jim was allah, would that make Steed mo-hammed?

...and if you do this deed, there will be 10000 cans of spam waiting for you in heaven. (NUFC stadium)

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by jumpy

Environmental issues and their solutions for the conurbation are much more socially complex than an arbitrary benchmark for reducing emissions, issued by a bunch of overpaid eurocrats.
Better off talking to china first. No matter what everyone else does in regards to reducing carbon emissions, it'll be a complete waste of time on a golabal scale (and that's really the only scale that matters here) if the chinese and other rapidly developing industrial nations follow the path we made, before things like global warming were even heard of.

<applause> Thank you for saying all that so I didn't have to

[tater]

I think they should wait and see. Frankly, by that late date I expect most urban vehicles might be electric anyway for a number of reasons. Screw "carbon," noise and clean air are good enough reasons (not to mention fuel costs).

I think cities could easily incentivize it instead of a ban. Many already have limited access (helps for islands like NYC), so you could have cheaper toll passes for zero emission cars. You could make a large number of tiny car spaces to encourage tiny, urban cars.

While I don;t buy the AGW issue (or more specifically that it is well characterized enough to make predictions on what emissions should be limited to for an accurately predicted effect), I think noise, and lack of fumes is good enough reason. Would even be nice here in ABQ so I can maintain my 100+ mile views out my windows.

[joegrundman]

this is just EU "save the world" posturing, counteracted by tory party "save our british sausages" posturing.

Jumpy's objections are odd. By 2050, there's a good chance that oil will be too expensive to be used in conventional cars. What are you saying? That Britain will grind to a halt rather than adapt to a new form of power? Now i put it that way, perhaps it would grind to a halt

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by joegrundman

this is just EU "save the world" posturing, counteracted by tory party "save our british sausages" posturing.

Jumpy's objections are odd. By 2050, there's a good chance that oil will be too expensive to be used in conventional cars. What are you saying? That Britain will grind to a halt rather than adapt to a new form of power? Now i put it that way, perhaps it would grind to a halt

Quite right in the long run, it will "cost" of having a car, and many countries already have bans in place, without the EU's presence