Power points - Electric cars

Last Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency warned that our total greenhouse gas emissions will increase each year until at least 2020.

Growing fossil fuel consumption, encouraged by low fuel prices, and an expanding farm sector are the primary drivers of increased emissions.

Transport emissions are projected to by 17% to 18% by 2020, and by 17% to 20% by 2030. A decline in emissions is projected from 2025 to 2030, an aspiration dependent on a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles on Irish roads.

To that end, a trial using street lamps as electric car charging points is aimed at driving the essential changeover to emission-free vehicles.

Electric car users will be able to plug into lamp posts in two months time when Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown starts a pilot project. Dublin City Council is exploring installing lamp post chargers in the Docklands area during the summer.

This is praiseworthy but it is hard to escape the feeling that we must do much more to encourage the use of electric vehicles by quickly installing far more power points right across the country.