Ireland Declares Climate Emergency

[CitizenKane]

Interesting reading this morning: https://www.independent.ie/news/envi...-38224591.html

Although there is no doubt an element of scaremongering with that headline as I don't think things like congestion charges or EV-only zones are going to be implemented overnight on foot of this report.

My concern at the moment though is the lack of certainty. I've been striving to own an M car for years and was hoping to finally get one next year - but reading things like this makes me wonder if I should just give up on that idea altogether and go find another hobby...

[318 iS Cosmos]

Ok, maybe it because I'm in a very optimistic mood today and potentially very unrealistic too, but surely this is their chance to scrap motor tax and just put a big duty on fuel instead. Like I said, unrealistic but stranger things have happened...

[ian-909]

“Plans to introduce legislation to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030”

https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/...e-action-plan/

[Big H]

“Plans to introduce legislation to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030”

Bang on when the E93 LCI M3 becomes eligible for €56 vintage tax.....

[dergside]

Bang on when the E93 LCI M3 becomes eligible for €56 vintage tax.....

10 years off there, methinks......

[Big H]

10 years off there, methinks......

You're quite correct D - I did of course mean classic insurance - the motor tax will probably be €5,600 per annum by then....

[CitizenKane]

“Plans to introduce legislation to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030”

https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/...e-action-plan/

I assume that’s just new car sales, as otherwise banning people from selling their cars second hand would be a pretty severe violation of constitutional rights of property ownership...

[kdevitt]

No NCTs will be provided for petrol / diesel car after 2045. Its a good way off - so who knows what will have happened by then. Maybe someone will crack the hydrogen fuel cell and we can continue to drive our cars and just emit water!

[spike]

nissan, toyota, merc, and a few more are running trials on hydrogen cars,

[CitizenKane]

No NCTs will be provided for petrol / diesel car after 2045. Its a good way off - so who knows what will have happened by then. Maybe someone will crack the hydrogen fuel cell and we can continue to drive our cars and just emit water!

It's a long way off for sure until they completely ban them, but my fear in the short term is they could very quickly cease to be viable through taxation, particularly in this country where we already pay such a high premium to run a car. For example if you lived in the UK where it costs £20 a year to tax a diesel car in the lowest band, or £500 a year to tax an e92 M3, then increases in taxation or the cost of fuel, etc. of the type that are coming down the tracks here would be a lot easier to swallow.

Of course we could also seek to offset the burden of this somewhat by decreasing income tax and abolishing USC, etc. but the chances of that are virtually zero now the government pretty much has a carte blanche to tax us into oblivion as a result of this climate emergency. Unfortunately as is always the way with socialist big government, if the options to incentivise something (such as EVs) are to either decrease the cost of that thing or to increase the cost of everything else, the latter will tend to prevail (which aligns with the stated objective of this plan is to "force" private motorists off the road).