Irish Examiner view: EV target for 2030 a flight of fancy now

The twin announcements on Monday that the EU will ease its proposed 2035 ban on new cars with internal combustion engines and that Ford is set to scale back its plans for electric vehicle production, is not good news for clean energy targets here or around the world.

A bright new — and clean — future for the automotive sector was supposed to have been heralded by the imposition of this EU ban when it was proposed a number of years ago and, largely, the car manufacturing industry took it on board, because there were not many viable alternatives.

But, without exercising its financial clout or doing much shouting from the rooftops, the sector went into lobbying mode, quietly flexing its extraordinary muscle. 

And, behind the scenes it went about trying to get the EU to change tack.

It has now succeeded in doing just that because it is clear to pretty much everyone that our world is not yet ready for fully electric motoring. 

Sales are not in any way matching predictions and the tardiness in creating a workable infrastructure across Europe and most of its constituent parts has left the 2035 deadline as a non-starter.

Thus, from 2035 onwards car makers will, for new registrations, implement a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions rather than the 100% previously mandated. This effectively means that the technology ban on internal combustion engines is no more.

That means that all petrol and diesel engines currently being produced and sold in Europe will continue to be manufactured and marketed.

While the German sector is taking the credit for this reversal, it is worth noting that such as Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Chechia, Hungary, and Bulgaria had all been pressing for a relaxation of the regulations.

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The news was followed on Monday by Ford’s announcement it had overestimated the scale of demand for EVs and underestimated the staying power of petrol and diesel powered cars. 

Other manufacturers such as Stellantis and General Motors have also changed tack.

But there are twin concerns now for both climate targets and also the growing influence worldwide of the Chinese automotive industry, which is considerably ahead of its global competitors in both the manufacture of EVs and the infrastructure necessary to keep them going.

For Ireland, the target of 1m EVs by 2030 now seems fanciful at best and also has implications for our ability to meet emission standards. What once seemed wonderfully idealistic is now even more of a pipedream than ever.

Cost of living: Supply chain transparency can only help

Anyone who regularly goes to do the family shop cannot but have noticed the inexorable climb of the price of goods in any and every store they visit.

The rise in the cost of essential foodstuffs across the board has largely gone unchecked, but the news that the agri-food regulator is to be granted greater powers to compel businesses to provide relevant market data is one move which will ultimately help hard-pressed households.

The idea is that this will create transparency across agri-food supply chains and compel businesses to provide the regulator with data around pricing, supply chains and salaries.

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Agriculture minister Martin Heydon got cabinet approval on Tuesday for the proposals, which will also allow the regulator to issue fines for non-compliance and also provide sector businesses with an appeals procedure.

The rise in the cost of essential foodstuffs across the board has largely gone unchecked.

While the regulator was established two years ago, it has repeatedly failed to get the essential data it requires, prompting calls for it to be given more powers to get agri-businesses to comply.

The idea behind the news is that improved transparency should help stop any unfair trading practices and improve relationships between farmers, producers and the powerful multiples that purchase their produce. 

Ultimately, it will also benefit the consumer.

The strength of the multiples in all this has led farmers and producers to claim what they are being paid is inadequate for them to make a living, while consumers are not happy either at the other end of the supply chain.

The art of containing cost of living and inflation trends is a difficult one, but hopefully this is one step in the right direction for both producers and consumers.

Community spirit: Share and care

The young people of Cork’s Share charity have been part and parcel of Christmas in the city for decades now and have raised huge amounts of money to combat homelessness.

On Monday, however, the yellow-jacketed teenage charity volunteers added another, heartening string to their bow, when they took to the city streets t o say farewell to a man who died alone and had no family to bid him adieu.

It was their efforts in fundraising that provided Welshman, Kenyon Jones Ginn, with a home in the Share Mount St Joseph complex from 2007 to 2021 and it was they who took it upon themselves to ensure his final journey was not a soulless one.

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Not alone did they provide a guard of honour, but they also shouldered his coffin in what was a beautiful reminder that the boys and girls who had so assisted him during his life, did not forget him in death.

Boys and girls of Share shoulder the coffin of Kenyon Jones Ginn, fondly known as Taffy, as the remains of the pensioner are taken from Joe Coughlan's Funeral Home on Shandon St to the Island Crematorium. Picture: Noel Sweeney

That the students regarded their efforts in taking such a prominent part in the funeral as being a great honour. 

That they felt compelled to fulfil the last wishes of Taffy — as Mr Ginn was affectionately known — provided the occasion with a dignity and community spirit it would not otherwise have had.

It is a SHARE tradition that people be treated with respect in life and dignity in death and the students fulfilled those requirements in great style.