Written by Abishan Raj-Kumar, City of London Freemens School
Subsidising the purchase of a form of greener energy in the shape of electric cars is vital to save the environment and our planet. Passenger vehicles producing 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year make vehicles one of the largest factors in deteriorating our planet. This emphasises that the manufacturing of electric cars is a simple solution to a vast problem. The government should absolutely subsidise the purchase of electric cars to uphold a good standard of air quality. Fumes given off by cars also contribute to climate change as the fumes are predominantly CO2, which is a greenhouse gas, this being a leading force in causing climate change further reinforces why green energy is crucial for upkeeping the health of our planet.
Figure 1 - iStock
“Research has shown that electric cars are better for the environment” (Moses, 2020). They emit less greenhouse gases and air pollutants compared to petrol and diesel cars. “Over a year, just one electric car on the roads can save an average of 1.5 million grams of CO2, that’s the equivalent of four return flights from London to Barcelona” (Moses, 2020). This puts perspective on how vital EV’s are to society and the environment. The amount of carbon that EV’s are saving is bewildering. Therefore, for the government to not subsidise and encourage the purchase of EV’s would not be explainable as it aids the environment significantly.
A downside to EV’s is that it requires a lot of energy to produce compared to a normal car. This is because the emissions are created due to the manufacturing of the lithium-ion-batteries. But as technology improves there are more efficient techniques surfacing to produce EV’s whilst improving the emissions produced (Moses, 2020). This means subsidising the purchase of EV’s is still a worthy investment and will only become more logical as technology progresses.
Figure 2 - iStock
Subsidising the purchase of EV’s is a good idea as they evidently don’t run on petrol or diesel. This means less oil is consumed which may lead to less fossil fuels being burned to extract the oil due to the lack of demand. A lack of consumption of petrol or diesel also may mean habitats and ecosystems are not destroyed for the purpose of extracting the oil. This overall helps the environment out, as if the number of EV owners increase it may lead to less extraction of the oil which leads to less fossil fuels, such as coal, being used which means it doesn’t contribute to climate change and helps habitats and ecosystems to not be destroyed in these extracting sites.
However, this will have little effect if only the UK government subsidises EVs. If the rest of the world are not behind this movement, then oil will still be in relatively high demand and the oil will still be extracted at its usual rate. But as the UK government can be reasonably influential other governments may follow or improve their already existing schemes to encourage the purchase of EV’s. Which therefore still suggests the subsidy can still be very effective.
There are many ways the government are currently trying to help make owning an electric vehicle more affordable. One scheme that has been used is The Electric Vehicle Home charge Scheme (Smith, 2021). EVHS, for short, grants offer up to 75% toward the cost of buying and installing a ChargePoint at home (Smith, 2021). This is a revolutionary scheme that is aiding a lot of electric vehicles (EV) owners because one of the main issues people find with owning an EV is the cost of purchasing one and the cost of installing a charging point as it can be very expensive. The cost may deter many people from buying an EV therefore this way of subsidising the purchase of EV’s has a significant positive effect on the consumer and incentivises the purchasing of one. Incentivising the purchase will lead to more people consuming EV’s which ultimately leads to a better environment and a better planet.
Many people also ask the question “What about the electricity required to fuel an electric car” (Moses, 2020). Research by the “European Energy Agency found that even with electricity generation the carbon emissions of an electric car are around 17-30% lower than driving a petrol or diesel car” (Moses, 2020). This answers the question very well as it states that even with electricity emissions being a problem it is still saving a lot more than driving a conventional car. This is another fact that further reinforces my point on how the government should be eager to subsidise the purchase of this highly sustainable mode of transport.
Finally, the big issue when it comes to subsidies is the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative desired after choosing between two or more options. The money being spent on subsidising the purchase of EV’s can easily be spent somewhere else on services such as the NHS or on benefit payments, especially if the subsidy doesn’t work for EV’s. Subsidising EV’s may fail due to many things such as the financial situation of the general population. Most households may still not be able to afford owning an EV even after the subsidy which will prevent them from purchasing one. The opportunity cost and the issue that grants may not be large enough are all problems that cannot be avoided when subsidising. Therefore, this is something the government need to watch out for before investing money into the purchasing of EV’s.
The government is not making the 'wrong' decision by choosing to subsidise the purchase of electric cars as it is a great way of promoting a form of greener energy to restore the health of our planet. In fact, this subsidy could be a better avenue for government spending instead of losing money to costly and unfinished projects such as HS2. EV’s are essential in helping our environment by saving carbon emissions from their petrol and diesel hungry cousins. If you simply just venture out anywhere, you can already see the huge steps we've taken to promote EV's, but a government subsidy could just be the key to reaching our essential climate goals.
Sources:
Eurpoean Parliamant, 2019. CO2 emissions from cars: facts and figures (infographics). [Online] Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-and-figures-infographics
Moses, M., 2020. Benefit of electric cars on the environment. [Online] Available at: https://www.edfenergy.com/energywise/electric-cars-and-environment#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20electric%20cars%20are%20better,the%20electricity%20required%20to%20fuel%20them%20is%20considered
Smith, A., 2021. Government Grants For Electric Cars. [Online] Available at: https://www.gocompare.com/motoring/electric-cars/government-grants-for-electric-car-users/#
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