14 DAY TRIAL // A new British study seems to suggest that the best possible way to ensure that greenhouse-gas emissions from cars are reduced is to make petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles smaller and lighter. According to the Oxford University team behind the investigation, this needs to be done in a drastic manner, as in considerably, and not just by a few inches and kilograms. The scientists at the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment say that people should not give their money to car manufacturers rolling out hydrogen- or battery-powered vehicles, at least for the next ten years or so, ScienceDaily reports.
The research also determined that alternative fuel-powered machines, either for land, air or water use, were very likely to remain niche products for many years. This is largely due to the fact that the life of batteries these vehicles incorporate at this point is still very limited. Additionally, the large costs of platinum, one of the main catalysts associated with these batteries, make them very expensive. Given the current economic downturn, and the effects it will have on the general population's purchasing power for the next decade or so, it is highly unlikely that the masses will afford buying such vehicles in large-enough numbers to have any significant influence on the health of the environment.
However, the new paper, entitled “Future of Mobility Roadmap,” also shows that there is still hope. “There is ample opportunity for emissions reductions by further improvements of currently available technology combined with a change in user habits,” the lead author of the study, Oxford expert Dr. Oliver Inderwildi, says. He and study editor Sir David King, also at the university, say that authorities should impose higher taxes on people driving very large, fuel-inefficient cars. The money thus obtained could then be invested in producing the innovation and infrastructure required to promote the use of more efficient cars, powered through alternative fuel sources.
“Many technological options are already available and, in combination with infrastructure investments, [they will] support the economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other long-term benefits,” the report states. In addition, the researchers add, it is very important to promote these changes now. The technological half-life of a modern vehicle is very long, and therefore even innovation done today will take a long time before it is implemented in most of the world's vehicle fleets.