Light bulb moment: the flaw in the petrol car ban

This week, writing in the Daily Mail, Matt Ridley produced a devastating takedown of the government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new conventionally powered cars. He plans to pre-empt the ban himself by buying a brand-new petrol car in 2029.

I thought he was right about almost everything, except perhaps that final prediction. He’s right to be sceptical about the environmental benefits of electric cars – especially in countries such as China (and, to a lesser extent, Germany) where electricity is largely generated from the filthier forms of coal. Indeed Germans, if they truly want to benefit the environment, may be better off buying electric cars not for themselves but for random French people, since France invested sensibly in nuclear power.

Above all Matt is right to be highly sceptical about arbitrary simultaneous deadlines imposed by governments.