Electric cars are good for Guernsey and for the planet

SO TWO garage owners aren’t selling as much petrol because of the rise in electric cars. They complain that owners of electric cars don’t pay their way. Of course it’s not free to run an electric car. They have to charge their cars either at home or at a charge point neither of which are free and the revenue raised goes to Guernsey Electricity and thus into the States coffers. Yes electric cars don’t pay road tax but that is to encourage people to buy them as they cost quite a lot more. Electric cars in the UK will be paying some road tax from April 2025 so in Guernsey a similar model could be introduced but it would need to be at a level that didn’t put off potential buyers who would be facing a higher initial cost.

Then, up comes that old myth that it’s more polluting to manufacture an electric car.

This myth has been well and truly debunked if the life of the car is taken into account. To quote an article in the Guardian, ‘The verdict. The scientific consensus is overwhelming: on any realistic like-for-like comparison a battery car will be cleaner than its petrol or diesel equivalent. Burning fossil fuels to make and drive electric cars will still cause emissions, but at a lower level than inefficient fossil fuel engines’.

Of course that does not take into account the fact that most of our electricity is imported from France and at a higher cost as we have specified renewable energy. Businesses will always have to change – look at the High Street – and organisations have to evolve to stay in business. So let’s be clear about this – electric cars are good for Guernsey and good for the planet. Hopefully hydrogen-driven electric cars will eventually be even more green, but in the meantime go with the technology we have to save our rapidly-diminishing environment.

jonesmnr@gmail.com