Plan to cut vehicle emissions a good move

25 May 2007

Media Release

Plan to cut vehicle emissions a good move

Business leader are welcoming moves by the Government to raise emissions standards for new and used vehicles.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development says the Government should also go further and pay buyers of newly registered low emission vehicles up to $3000 cash each.

The Business Council's Chief Executive, Peter Neilson, says New Zealand has one of the biggest, oldest and dirtiest car fleets in the world.

Tens of thousands of vehicles are being imported each year which don't meet the latest emissions standards, even in the countries which make them.

The Business Council, whose 57 member companies include Toyota, Honda and BMW, had undertaken extensive research on how the country could quickly and effectively clean up the nation's fleet of more than four million vehicles.

"It's not good enough for vehicle importers to say that if we shouldn't apply many of the latest and best emission standards because it might put up the price of some vehicles.

"The country is paying an appalling price already because of vehicles with poor fuel and emission quality.

"The public have had enough of it. According to the latest nationwide polling result out today, 84% of people will support incentives being paid to buyers of fuel efficient, low emission cars (using 8 litres of fuel or less per 100km and meeting the latest Euro IV emission standards)."

The result comes from the Business Council's ShapeNZ survey panel, covers 1384 respondents nationwide and is accurate to within + or 2%.

"It's a magnificent way to preserve our quality of life and manage climate change in a way every Kiwi can understand," Mr Neilson says.

The Government is calling for submissions on its proposed new rules. The Business Council will be asking if they are also going to cover buses and trucks, and provide rules for phasing out older vehicles which don't meet these standards.

The Government has started a pilot scheme to give people public transport vouchers for scrapping old cars.

"Perhaps it's best to just get on with a nationwide cash scrappage fee scheme. It could possibly start with the highest-mileage vehicles first," Mr Neilson says." And start paying up to $3000 to buy the right cars and get more than 430,000 cleaner vehicles into the top end of the fleet in the next five years. They'll use 49 million litres less fuel a year. Over their 13 to 20 year life in the fleet, their owners will save more than $700 million in petrol bills. Combined with better standards on used imports and a scrappage fee scheme, we should see a significant improvement in air quality and fuel economy."

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