A friend reckons that green policies are about to be rumbled and the time is coming when the public, or perhaps a particularly well-connected, noisy part of it, will \"rise up\" and be counted. \u00a0He's not some Marxist shrill, just someone who's skeptical about green panaceas. \u00a0And he's not alone as I read more and more articles throwing cold water on exaggerated claims, promises and greenwashing.<\/p>\n
My friend reckons that the deadline on the sale of petrol and diesel cars will have to be put back or maybe just abandoned. \u00a0This is, in part, because the roll out of charging points has been so pathetic \u2013 there is now one for every 30 EVs on the road compared with one for every 16 at the start of 2020.<\/p>\n
But it's also because the public seems to have fallen out of love with the practical idea of EVs. \u00a0Too pricey; even\u00a0the smallest electric car starts at \u00a330,000. \u00a0Too limited in range; unless you buy an \u00fcber expensive SUV. \u00a0Too inconvenient; if you've not got a private drive. \u00a0Too difficult in Winter; when charging and running only gives you some 75% of what you get in Summer (and where do you find that in a handbook). Etc, etc.<\/p>\n
And as for the larger picture \u2013 net zero by 2050; well, forget it, my friend thinks.<\/p>\n
The trouble with being a\u00a0progressive<\/em> government (one that overtly presses a social justice agenda) is that you necessarily find yourself ahead of the electorate; that is, rather than meeting their needs, you're usually in the business of telling of them what those needs are. \u00a0This often means telling them that they're wrong about things they thought that they knew to be right.<\/p>\n