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Oct 05 Go 'caesar' for more green cars P Raveentheran Set up research centre to help form clear energy policies ON the surface, the move was meant to encourage more Singaporean drivers to go green. It was announced last week that the rebates for environmentally-friendly vehicles would be extended and even doubled ? to 40 per cent of the car's open market value ? from next year. Road tax rebates in turn would be withdrawn. But will this mean the roll-out of significantly more green cars on our roads, up from the pathetic 79 registered as of August? While a step in the right direction, one has to question the incremental nature of such policy changes. It also begs the question of whether the National Environment Agency's (NEA) goals are shared with the same level of priority by other agencies. For instance, the extension of the rebates for two years implies some future plan to withdraw the rebates. Why are "green" car rebates not a permanent feature in our country's energy policies? Also, to recoup the additional costs of owning a hybrid car, one would have to keep it for about six years. So, one is similarly discouraged from switching to better types of green cars down the road. Indeed, recent events—the fuel price surge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, for instance—make an urgent argument for formulating energy-related policies that are more far-sighted. Policy-makers need to take into account the potential savings in our national oil import bills, the advantage in providing consumers with more energy choices (so they are not held to ransom by fluctuating oil prices), as well as the environmental benefits. There are several steps that can be taken. First, unlike other countries, there is a lack of information of the fuel efficiency of vehicles sold here. When it comes to car reviews, the Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) and the Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS) could take a proactive role to ensure that important information—such as the average distance travelled per litre of fuel—is included, instead of just how quickly a car can reach the speed of 100 kmh. Our energy policies and laws also need to change in tandem with technological advances. For instance, in Europe, diesel vehicles already account for more than half of all new-car sales. Several countries in our region already have passenger vehicles that run on diesel. Even gas-guzzling China, interestingly enough, has implemented a new set of tough auto fuel-economy standards. The relevant local authorities could work closely with the major oil companies to research and introduce alternative fuels in Singapore. BP (British Petroleum), for instance, operates a biofuel refinery in Germany. After all, we have abundant sources of biofuels—which are produced from plants such as soybeans, palm oil, even used cooking oil—in the region. Why not embark on collaborative ventures with our Asean partners, as we did for natural gas? Targets and incentives may be required to entice all stakeholders to reduce the dependence on oil. The European Commission (EC) Directive has targeted up to a 20-per-cent switch of petroleum-based fuels for transportation to alternative fuels by 2020. Asean could, in time, take this approach, too. On the local front, more compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling stations with more than one operator could be set up all over Singapore, to encourage more taxi operators and the general public to switch to CNG vehicles. It would be practical to first establish one in each of the various districts. When India enforced the use of CNG for all public vehicles in New Delhi several years ago, it helped to cut down pollution greatly. A welcomed first step would be to have the AAS and Case take the lead in public discussions. The NEA, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry could also seriously review the costs savings to our economy that a less oil-dependent strategy would bring. Perhaps, a dedicated independent centre for research—Caesar, or the Centre of Alternative Energy and Strategic Resources—could be set up to assist our decision makers in the formulation of a comprehensive multi-choice energy policy. The writer, an engineer by training, is a private businessman. links Related articles on Singapore: green energy |
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