The BBC has reported today that climate Change is affecting the global economy. This is the first report issued on Climate Change by an economist, Sir Nicholas Stern, rather than Environmental Scientists.

Global warming and climate change have recently been highlighted by Al Gore in his movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth‘. This report supports the stance that climate change will affect us in our lifetime. Our Global Economy has the potential to crash by 20% unless action is taken now, and the rich western countries, UK included, need to take positive action to prevent sea levels rising, water shortages, wildlife extinction and millions of people becoming refugees in their own homes (BBC).

This is all very worrying; so what is the Government urging us to do to prevent these catastrophic outcomes from happening. Well, by 2010 the Government would like to see 5% of all vehicles running on biofuels. Currently only 0.5% of all vehicles are running on LPG in the UK. Targets to reduce European emissions by 30% by 2020 have also been set. You can easily calculate your cars emissions and compare your reductions if running on LPG. Further actions will focus on establishing trade links with Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica to ensure sustainable forestry and working on clean coal technologies in partnership with China.

The following chart was taken from the Stern Review highlighting the part that transport is playing towards emissions. Transport accounts for 14% of our Global emissions.

Sir Nicholas Stern, the author of the report, stated that “We have the time and knowledge to act but only if we act internationally, strongly and urgently “. But that wasn’t the only statement that made an impact. Most notably Mr Blair admitted that “This disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime,” and he continued to say that “For every £1 invested now we can save £5, or possibly more, by acting now.
We can’t wait the five years it took to negotiate Kyoto - we simply don’t have the time. We accept we have to go further (than Kyoto).”

Perhaps if there is a financial gain involved, people might be more inclined to take action now rather than later. There must be an immediate growth down-scaling if we’re expecting to have growth in the future. We can no longer wait and see, we must act here and now.
Read a summary of the 700-page report here or contact Fuelture for more information on how to cut your emissions.

Last week’s hot topic on the news was the Liberal Democrats change to Richmond’s Resident Parking Policy. Fuelture is currently investigating to find out if LPG cars will benefit from this change to parking policy in Richmond.

The yearly cost of residents parking is currently £200, Richmond is now basing the parking fee on a cars emissions, with the greenest cars parking for free and high emission cars paying up to £750. Also, having more than one car per household will cost an extra 50% for the second permit. Click here to find out how much your emissions would cost you to park in Richmond.

The Lib Dem’s are approaching the Cabinet next Monday to seek approval for the scheme and believe that this will be an incentive for more people to opt for greener cars and have a positive impact on reducing the effects of climate change. Watch this space for an update on what this means for LPG cars.

Seoul City, Korea is the next large city to crack down with congestion charging. Air pollution caused by car exhaust fumes is an issue for most cities in the world now and Korea have introduced an innovative driving scheme aiming to reduce the air pollution levels. Drivers will receive a 50% CC discount for taking part in the scheme known as “No Driving Day“. Motorists are expected to abandon their cars for one day each week and are rewarded with this CC discount. The scheme sounds great in theory, however as the No driving cars are only marked with a paper sticker; it is proving difficult to track whether or not motorists are sticking to the No Driving Day promise.

Alternative fuel vehicles, including Electric, hybrid, solar and fuel-cell cars are fully exempt from the CC in Korea. LPG and Diesel Oxidation Catalyst cars receive 50% discount regardless of whether they take part in the No Driving Day scheme.

More and more cities are introducing CC and other methods to encourage motorists to switch to greener driving habits. With London looking to expand the CC zone further, is it time for you to consider you motoring options?

Green car congress reported last week, since gas prices have dropped - less people are searching online for fuel-efficient cars and returned to their previous bad habits (i.e. Hummer searches have risen by nearly 15%).  It wasn’t long ago that the demand for gas-guzzling cars dropped dramatically.  Alternative fuel cars are cheaper to run, however surely the environmental impact is important to consumers too.  Gas prices have dropped, but the emissions these larger cars produce are still a lot more than cleaner fuelled cars.

The following chart was taken from Green Car Congess that shows the change in online car searches.

Low carbon vehicle owners could soon be eligible for free or discounted parking.  The GBPP scheme is being tried and tested in Greater Manchester, but is aiming to expand to other cities across the UK.  Sheffield have a similar scheme that offers free parking to dual-fuel cars, however Keith Boxer and Lelia O’Sullivan (founders of GBPP) believe that cars should qualify for the GBPP based on CO2 emissions rather than fuel types.  This would mean that single-fuelled vehicles, such as the Smart car, could also qualify for free parking.  To qualify for a permit owners must have registration certificate, MoT certificate, driver’s license and insurance details.  The GBPP is only open to private car owners, however opening the permit to fleets would encourage high mileage users to cut their CO2 emissions.
The GBPP has been labeled as an “innovative policy proposal to promote low carbon vehicles and fuels” by Fleet News Magazine.

On August 5th “Stuff.co.nz” reported that the Kiwi’s have launched a dual-fuel Holden Commodore in New Zealand. The LPG Holden has come from Australia, where LPG is very common and the market is well developed. New Zealander’s are being educated on LPG, highlighting the environmental benefits along with the financial upside of running your car on LPG. Stuff reported that:

“The system is so efficient it is able to mimic the engine’s petrol injection sequence, and that means power and torque figures when on LPG are close to those when on petrol - in other words, there is no performance loss.”

The dual-fuel Holden does cost NZ$7150 more than the petrol model which is around £2,300. However, LPG is less than half the cost of petrol in New Zealand as it is in the UK, Europe, Australia and the States, so the overall cost saving is still worth the extra initial cost, especially when you consider how beautiful the New Zealand landscape is… why would anyone damage this?

The BBC report that alternative fuels have now graced the floors of the London Stockmarket. Alternative Fuel Companies are now listing on the Stock Market to generate funds for future developments. Fossil Fuels have always been our number one, however supply is depleting, prices are soring and climate change is happening.

There is a massive space arising in the market for alternative fuels, LPG and Biodiesel are two solutions to fossil fuel. There is a mass supply of LPG in the UK, it’s cheap and produces much less harmful emissions into our atmosphere. Biodiesel again is less harmful to our environment.

In regards to the benefits of alternative fuels, the availability and investiment into new developments, the BBC commented that:

“Motorists who feel a pang of guilt every time they fill their tanks with pollutant-laden fossil fuels may soon find that they no longer have an excuse for not switching to cleaner alternatives.”

Air pollution in London is the worst in the UK despite Congestion Charging and Euro Emission Standards. The Mayor of London has once again called for a step up on regulations in our countries capital and is now cracking down on lorries, HGV’s and coach drivers. Starting from Feburary 2008 lorries built after 2001 without exhaust filters stand to face fines up to £1000. This is a huge expense to the haulage industry with an estimated £390million to fit over 60,000vehicles with emission traps to meet the air quality standard. However, with air pollution causing 1,000deaths a year in London alone, the industry needs to take a step towards improving emissions and smog levels. Ken Livingstone firming believes that London can correct it’s poor air quality:

“The proposed Low Emission Zone is the most effective way of quickly reducing pollutants that are among the most harmful to human health. It will make London one of the first cities in the world to have taken such a radical step to tackle air pollution and safeguard our environment.”

Yellow school buses are iconic in the States as part of the perfect family dream. Happy children are sent off to school with completed home work, a healthy lunch and a kiss from Mom. However, The Union of Concerned Scientist (UCSUSA) has graded school buses across the country on their pollution performance. 95% of the yellow school buses run on Diesel, producing emissions that are linked to causing asthma, heart disease, and cancer. The studies carried out by UCSUSA showed that the gases emitted from school buses are concentrated inside the bus, resulting in greater exposure for the children riding school buses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) has set a goal to replacing all school buses by 2010 with alternatively fuelled engines. LPG offers an affordable and practical solution to EPA’s targets for the next 4years. Some of America’s school bus fleets are already leading the way in securing the health and safety of the children. Dallas County Schools have 500 LPG school buses and Texas as a state currently has over 2,000 school buses running on LPG. Texas is setting the standard for the US in reducing harmful vehicle emissions.

Edinburgh recently showed huge aversion to inner-city congestion charges, with more than two thirds of people saying “no” to the charge. The aim was to tackle air pollution and reduce emission levels in Scotland’s capital city. Allan Jackson, Tory transport spokesman addresses the issue:

“We continue to work hard at lowering levels of NO2 in areas of concern to ensure that we meet air quality levels by 2010. We encourage bus operators and the taxi industry to ensure that total vehicle emissions and emissions per passenger are lowered as improvements to engine technology become available.”

The benefits of congestion charging include less traffic, cleaner air and public transport improvements. Individuals wishing to address these issues can make stands of their own urges the Cockburn Association. Using alternative means of transport when appropriate will improve congestion problems, helping to improve the air quality in the capital. Alternative fuels are becoming increasingly popular among high mileage users where public transport is not always on option. Studies show that LPG vehicles produce up to 98% less NOx than diesel and petroleum vehicles. Not only will LPG users make savings of up to 50% per year on fuel costs, but they will assist in improving the environment around Scotland’s prided Heritage Site.