Following the LPG Conversion subsidy, over 10,000 Aussie’s have called the LPG hotline number to make enquiries and 87% of the callers are desperate to convert - Sydney Daily Telegraph.

The surge in demand has resulted in the staff handling the calls growing from 4 to 90 people and the demand for LPG cars from the manufacturer has also increase by 10,000 vehicles. The waiting list for having an LPG Conversion is around 2 months, encouraging more mechanics to become qualified in LPG Conversions.

Raising the profile of LPG even more in Australian… Ford set a challenge of completing a lap of the country in an LPG car on a fuel budget of $1000. The 14,000km trip was completed with a pocket full of change left over!

Subaru have announced that the Tribeca will now be available as an LPG Car. The German Chairman, Jens Becker, boasted that “significant savings could be achieved without a loss to performance, comfort and safety.” The LPG Subaru will be launched in Europe later this year.

The press are reporting that there has been a drop in demand for SUV’s and other gas guzzling cars; perhaps Subaru is making the right move to improve the emission standard of these cars.

Sources: RawStory

When big wigs like BP start to seriously talk about CO2 offsetting then it definitely looks like the momentum behind carbon offsets is sustainable. Companies like Terrapass in the US and Climate Care in the UK have been pushing carbon offsetting for wee while now.

BP has just announced (see this Guardian article) that they will be encouraging UK motorists to neutralise carbon emissions from their vehicles. The plan is that BP will match payments made by customers that seek to offset their emissions, investing the funds in low or zero car bon emission projects. This seems like a great idea but are consumers likely to bite? Or is this likely to be more of a PR exercise? Only time will tell.

Just one more thought though. How much would it cost BP to offset CO2 emissions from the products that it produces today?

A recent BP report stated that the carbon dioxide produced by its products was 606 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2004 ( this excludes carbon dioxide produced from oil and gas that the company buys and sells) – see this interesting article about these numbers.

Using today’s CO2 spot prices in Europe, a tonne of CO2 cost 16.6 Euros (around $21.23).

How much would BP have to spend to offset the CO2 from its products? My calculations come up with $12.9 Billion! Now, how does that compare with the record profits generated by the company in 2005?

The company reported $16.2 billion in profits in 2005. How would the company’s shareholders feel about channeling 80% of its profits into zero or low carbon projects? Hmmmmm.

In a sense BP is right, we all have to do our bit.

Interesting thoughts here:

• Desmogblog
• Shit Sandwich

The Met Police already have LPG patrol cars operating in London and now have plans to introduce hydrogen fuelled cars into the fleet. The Honda Hybrid’s are still under development but hopefully by 2010 a total of 70 hybrids will be patrolling the streets of Greater London. The cars are getting modified to withstand gunfire and crashes. Not only are these cars cheaper to run, they are also a lot more environmentally sound. A Scotland Yard spokesperson stated that the volatility of the oil market and the issues surrounding global warming have brought on this change to the cars.

The Scotsman reported today that there has been a recent increase of interest in LPG Conversions for Cars. Jim Currie reported that

“Word is spreading of a green solution to running a car that has no apparent snags.”

Fuelture’s own, Gbenga Kogbe (Managing Director) gave a comment to the Scotsman stating that,

“We can fit an LPG conversion to the average family saloon for around £1,900 adn a typical 4×4 for £2,300…This is inclusive of VAT and we would expect to have the vehicle in our workshop for four to five days.“

The article covered cost, performance, availabilty, approved converters and environmental issues. The article has been posted on our online magazine should you wish to read more.

Approved LPG Conversion Specialists are fully booked for 2006 since the Australian Government introduced the LPG Grant Scheme. Robert Cowan, The Gas Man, Sydney told an Australian Newspaper

“We’re already booked out to January so I don’t know what we’ll do”

This is great news for the environment and LPG Converters. However, not so great if you want your car converted. Australian’s will need to wait 5 months for a conversion date which is not good enough for some. Motorists are being warned about the dangers of not having an approved conversion. LPG Cowboys are taking advantage of the increase in demand leaving some drivers with poor qualtiy conversions and LPG systems. Bad conversions and dodgy equipment can seriously damage the car, costing a lot of money to repair. Moral - only have an LPG Conversion from an approved dealer!

Chicago is displaying a wide range of alternative fuel vehicles, ranging from London Taxi’s to Twike’s. The aim of the show is to view the vehicles, talk to the owners and learn about what is really involved in owning and driving an alternative fuel vehicle. Increasing awareness and educating people to make an informed decision about their chosen mode of transport is important in order to change mindsets towards greener transport.

Fuelture has an Information Guide to LPG; request a copy by emailing info@fuelture.com

In response to soaring oil prices the Australian Government have introduced a subsidy scheme for LPG Conversions. The Government is offering A$2,000 (£808) to people who convert their car to LPG and A$1,000 (£404) to people who buy cars that are already running on LPG. Petrol Stations will receive a grant of $20,000 (£8086) for supplying LPG at a lower price than unleaded petrol (40% lower). The scheme is said to be costing A$1.6bn over an eight year period. Critics have commented that despite the grant, lower-income drivers will still not be able to afford the cost of the conversion. LPG Conversions in Australia cost around A$4,000 (£1670) and save a typical driver around A$1,400 (£566) per year on fuel costs.

This is great news for the Aussies, perhaps the UK will follow suit - fingers crossed!

“Intellectually exhilarating. “An Inconvenient Truth” is a necessary film.”

The New York Times

Al Gore has made a film depicting the future caused by global warming; extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and deadly heat waves. Does sound like all the usual ingredients of a movie blockbuster, although did over 600 people not die in India this year due to the heat?

Al Gore’s movie has received very powerful reviews, urging people not to miss this movie. There has been a lot of online interest surrounding the movie and the issues is brings up. Watch the clip and decide for yourself if you want to see the movie and face the truth.

The Guardian reported today that the Lib Dem’s have unveiled their Green Tax Plans.  The Party is looking to make tax cuts of £18bn per year in favour of low income households and eco-friendly drivers.  Spokesman, Vince Cable commented that there would not be a drop in Government spending as the tax cuts would be offset by high earners and those with environmentally damaging lifestyles.  The Lib Dem’s believe that these changes (along with income based tax) would be “fairer, greener, and simpler”.

The Lib Dem’s believe that Taxing Pollution will help to combat Climate Change.  Fuelture believes that the more LPG Drivers we have the less CO2 emissions that will be produced and less damage will be done to our environment.