THE NEWS that Minister for the Environment John Gormley is to tweak his motor tax proposals is welcome, but almost inconsequential. It's no harm that those who bought less polluting cars since January 1st will now benefit from the new lower tax rates which weren't due to apply until July 1st. No doubt motor industry lobbyists who pushed for this amendment will now be less worried that consumers will delay purchases until later in the year. It's only fair that cars imported from the UK will also qualify for the new tax rates, writes Oisin Coughlan
Indeed, the Minister should go much further. When you buy a second-hand car it should qualify for the new rates. At the moment the incentive to purchase a less polluting vehicle is only for new car buyers. Why not measure CO2 emissions as part of the National Car Test (NCT) and apply the new emission-based rates to all cars on Irish roads?
All of this would be useful, but insignificant.
The Minister's own figures suggest that the current reform of vehicle registration tax (VRT) and motor tax will reduce carbon emissions from transport by less than half of 1 per cent by 2012.
In contrast, the Government has committed itself to reducing overall emissions by 3 per cent a year. Bear in mind that emissions from transport rose by 152 per cent between 1990 and 2005, and are projected to reach 265 per cent above 1990 levels by 2020 unless we act now to cut them. This at a time when the EU is proposing that we cut our emissions by 20-30 per cent by 2020. The Department of Finance opposed VRT reform for much of this decade because they were worried that if it was really effective at encouraging people to buy less polluting cars it would erode the tax take. It is now clear that the mandarins ensured that the overriding consideration in the eventual proposals was revenue protection rather than emissions reductions.
The motor tax and VRT changes are equitable and progressive and they send a clear signal to people about the link between transport choices and pollution. But we will have to look to other measures to actually achieve the required emissions reductions.
On Monday Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey published a consultation document on sustainable transport that was timely. Even more striking was his "admission of failure in several areas" by Government in implementing policies to achieve Ireland's targets under the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty he signed as minister for the environment 10 years ago. He conceded that when faced with a choice of taking hard decisions or postponing them, the Government put them on the long finger. This is admirably honest. Why then does he risk repeating the same mistake now by refusing to give a timeline for urban congestion charges or the provision of extra buses for Dublin Bus? It is clear that pricing and provision are central to real progress towards sustainable travel.
Buses are the cheapest and most flexible form of public transport you can provide. There is little risk they would all be "parked in Parnell Square" as the Minister worries. Every rush hour sees full buses pass frustrated commuters at bus stops across the capital.
And the best way to ensure that new buses have the road space they need is to introduce a congestion charge at the canals. As in London, the charge should be higher for more polluting vehicles. Indeed every number plate should indicate a car's emissions rating, just like the label on a fridge.
We also need per-kilometre tolling on the M50 as it is upgraded, not just to contain emissions and prevent it filling up again as soon as it is finished but in the name of fairness. Why should someone in Rathgar travel to Wexford, Cork and Galway without ever paying any toll while someone going from Tallaght to Blanchardstown pays every time?
Generating innovative policy proposals is not the problem. As Noel Dempsey admitted, getting them adopted and implemented is the challenge. That is why Friends of the Earth launched The Big Ask campaign across 17 European countries yesterday to demand that governments put a commitment to year-on-year emissions cuts into national law.
If we had put our Kyoto target into law the VRT and motor tax changes would have been adopted years ago, when they were first proposed. We would already have a carbon tax and we would be moving on to the next steps rather than desperately playing catch up.
The Government has taken the first step by committing to year-on-year emissions cuts. If it is serious about delivering sustainable transport, not to mention sustainable agriculture and housing it will move now to give that commitment the force of law.
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Oisín Coghlan is director of the environmental campaigning group Friends of the Earth