David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has written to Australian leader Julia Gillard in support of her planned tax on carbon to combat climate change.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
6:02PM BST 31 Jul 2011
His letter, congratulating the leader of the Australian Labour Party, said it was a “bold step”.
“Climate change is one of the most pressing threats we face and we need to take urgent action to reduce emissions and put economics on a more sustainable low carbon footing,” he wrote.
The UK Conservative leader’s letter is a boost to the controversial policy that has divided Australia, though it will infuriate critics who believe similar plans in both countries are damaging the economy.
Mr Cameron said the plan tax sends out a “strong and clear” signal to the rest of the developing and developed world that countries like Australia are serious about bringing down emissions.
The plan to impose a tax on the nation's 500 biggest carbon polluters to cut down on harmful emissions has proven divisive in Australia.
While Canberra says the tax will help slow global warming and save natural treasures such as the Great Barrier Reef, critics say it will make not change global emissions but hurt industry, cost jobs and increase the cost of living.
About 1,000 people gathered in central Sydney's Hyde Park on Sunday to call for a fresh election on the issue, saying Gillard had no mandate to introduce the tax in mid-2012 as planned when she was narrowly elected in August 2010.
Gillard has argued that a fixed price on carbon pollution – or an effective tax – is the most effective way for the system to work until it switches to an emissions trading scheme in 2015.
The UK is part of the European emissions trading scheme, which is effectively a carbon tax, that will increase over the next few years.
Mr Cameron’s comments will upset both protesters in the UK, who fear a carbon tax could damage the manufacturing industry, as well as the Australian critics.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Eco-rally shows off future fuels – wine, cheese, and sewage
Some of the world's greenest vehicles take part in an eco-rally today
By Jonathan Owen
Sunday, 31 July 2011
A sports car that runs on fuel made from cheese or wine, another that can run for more than 200 miles on a 10-minute charge of electricity, and a "Bio-Bug" powered by gas from sewage are among 20 vehicles of the future taking part in an eco-rally today.
Starting at Oxford this morning, the cars were due to make a two hour pit stop at the Building Research Establishment Innovation Park in Watford – allowing electric powered vehicles to recharge before continuing to The Mall in central London.
Now in its fifth year, the rally, sponsored by Bridgestone tyres and organised in association with the Prince of Wales's environmental initiative, Start, is designed to showcase low- and zero-emission vehicles.
Road transport accounts for almost a quarter of Britain's carbon dioxide emissions. While electric cars still cost more than their petrol rivals, a recent study by the Department of Energy and Climate Change claimed that the costs can be balanced out in the long run because electric cars are far cheaper to run. In a bid to promote electric cars earlier this year, the Government approved the construction of 11,000 charging points over the next 18 months, siting them in supermarkets, streets and car parks at a cost of £400m.
Rising petrol prices and the recession are helping to steer people towards greener cars, according to Andy Dingley, a spokesman for Bridgestone UK. "Vehicles that use fuels other than petrol or diesel are no longer concept cars of the future, but production cars of today," he said. This year has seen a number of car makers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Peugeot launch electric models. An electric version of the Ford Focus is due in 2013.
Last week, Ecotricity announced the first national charging network – with plans for charge points at 27 motorway service stations across the UK by 2014.
Lightning GT
£150,000+
Electric supercar; 0-60 mph in five seconds, top speed of 125mph. Range: 200 miles. Recharge in just 10 minutes.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Nemesis
Cost £750,000+ to develop
Built by Formula One engineers and powered by 96 lithium batteries; 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds; top speed 170mph. Range 150 miles.
Green rating: 5
Family Friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Peugeot 508
£21,975
Hybrid car, with 1.6 litre diesel engine and electric battery. 'Stop & Start System' means that emissions are zero in traffic.
Green rating: 2
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 2
Delta E-4 Coupe
£70,000-£80,000
Made by British company Delta Motorsport, it has a top speed of 140mph. Lithium ion phosphate battery; range of around 200 miles.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 4
Biodiesel Audi TT TDi
Customised by Turner Race Developments, not for sale.
Has a top speed of 145mph but can do 67 miles to the gallon on biodiesel.
Green rating: 1
Family friendly: 2
Top Gear factor: 3
Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel
Prototype, not for sale.
Capable of running on any combination of petrol, methanol, or bio-ethanol. Top speed of 158mph and 0-60mph in 3.88 seconds.
Green rating: 1
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 4
Honda Jazz Hybrid
£15,995
An electric nickel-metal hydride battery powers a 10kW electric motor, helping it achieve 63 miles per gallon.
Green rating: 2
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 0
Tesla Roadster
£87,000
Powered by 6,831 lithium ion cells. Top speed of 130mph; 3.7 seconds 0-60, and 245 miles on a single charge.
Green rating: 3
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Nissan LEAF
£25,990
A lithium-ion battery pack gives it a top speed of 90mph; 100 miles on a single charge.
Green rating: 5
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 1
Biobug – aka 'Dung Beetle'
Prototype. Not for sale
Top speed of 110mph – runs on methane generated from sewage. Waste flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes in Bristol is enough to power the Bio-Bug for a year.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 4
Top Gear factor: 1
By Jonathan Owen
Sunday, 31 July 2011
A sports car that runs on fuel made from cheese or wine, another that can run for more than 200 miles on a 10-minute charge of electricity, and a "Bio-Bug" powered by gas from sewage are among 20 vehicles of the future taking part in an eco-rally today.
Starting at Oxford this morning, the cars were due to make a two hour pit stop at the Building Research Establishment Innovation Park in Watford – allowing electric powered vehicles to recharge before continuing to The Mall in central London.
Now in its fifth year, the rally, sponsored by Bridgestone tyres and organised in association with the Prince of Wales's environmental initiative, Start, is designed to showcase low- and zero-emission vehicles.
Road transport accounts for almost a quarter of Britain's carbon dioxide emissions. While electric cars still cost more than their petrol rivals, a recent study by the Department of Energy and Climate Change claimed that the costs can be balanced out in the long run because electric cars are far cheaper to run. In a bid to promote electric cars earlier this year, the Government approved the construction of 11,000 charging points over the next 18 months, siting them in supermarkets, streets and car parks at a cost of £400m.
Rising petrol prices and the recession are helping to steer people towards greener cars, according to Andy Dingley, a spokesman for Bridgestone UK. "Vehicles that use fuels other than petrol or diesel are no longer concept cars of the future, but production cars of today," he said. This year has seen a number of car makers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Peugeot launch electric models. An electric version of the Ford Focus is due in 2013.
Last week, Ecotricity announced the first national charging network – with plans for charge points at 27 motorway service stations across the UK by 2014.
Lightning GT
£150,000+
Electric supercar; 0-60 mph in five seconds, top speed of 125mph. Range: 200 miles. Recharge in just 10 minutes.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Nemesis
Cost £750,000+ to develop
Built by Formula One engineers and powered by 96 lithium batteries; 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds; top speed 170mph. Range 150 miles.
Green rating: 5
Family Friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Peugeot 508
£21,975
Hybrid car, with 1.6 litre diesel engine and electric battery. 'Stop & Start System' means that emissions are zero in traffic.
Green rating: 2
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 2
Delta E-4 Coupe
£70,000-£80,000
Made by British company Delta Motorsport, it has a top speed of 140mph. Lithium ion phosphate battery; range of around 200 miles.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 4
Biodiesel Audi TT TDi
Customised by Turner Race Developments, not for sale.
Has a top speed of 145mph but can do 67 miles to the gallon on biodiesel.
Green rating: 1
Family friendly: 2
Top Gear factor: 3
Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel
Prototype, not for sale.
Capable of running on any combination of petrol, methanol, or bio-ethanol. Top speed of 158mph and 0-60mph in 3.88 seconds.
Green rating: 1
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 4
Honda Jazz Hybrid
£15,995
An electric nickel-metal hydride battery powers a 10kW electric motor, helping it achieve 63 miles per gallon.
Green rating: 2
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 0
Tesla Roadster
£87,000
Powered by 6,831 lithium ion cells. Top speed of 130mph; 3.7 seconds 0-60, and 245 miles on a single charge.
Green rating: 3
Family friendly: 0
Top Gear factor: 5
Nissan LEAF
£25,990
A lithium-ion battery pack gives it a top speed of 90mph; 100 miles on a single charge.
Green rating: 5
Family friendly: 5
Top Gear factor: 1
Biobug – aka 'Dung Beetle'
Prototype. Not for sale
Top speed of 110mph – runs on methane generated from sewage. Waste flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes in Bristol is enough to power the Bio-Bug for a year.
Green rating: 4
Family friendly: 4
Top Gear factor: 1
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