IN SUPPORT OF ENERGY EFFICIENT VEHICLES
October 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Fiona Hall (ALDE). - Mr President, this directive is very welcome because it puts legal flesh on previous proposals in the 2006 Directive and in the Commission's Action Plan on Energy Efficiency.
Public procurement has a vital role to play, not only through leading by example, but also because big contracts stimulate mass production and therefore bring down the cost of energy-efficient vehicles. Technically, too, the time is ripe for this directive. The range and speed of electric vehicles has been transformed by innovation in battery technology. Many vehicles procured by contracting authorities are fleet vehicles - which return at night to a base where they can easily be plugged in and recharged - so they are not dependent on the prior development of recharging facilities at service stations.
To conclude, I hope that this directive will serve as a stepping stone towards a comprehensive proposal on limiting CO2 emissions from commercial vehicles.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats