Is the increase in 'green' vehicles in Europe futile, as so much of the world continues to use large, thirsty vehicles?

I was interested to read the letter from MU of Newbury Park and your response to it. I travel frequently to Africa, mainly to Ghana where I am involved in a business. The preferred vehicles, once people make some money, are large American and European SUVs and pick-up trucks. There's even a local joke that the national car of Ghana is the Range Rover. We run American pick-up trucks with petrol V8 engines for their durability and ease of maintenance. My point is that, as long as "emerging economies", along with the USA, ignore the green agenda-driven push for ever more economical and often complex vehicles, whatever we do in the EU is an exercise in futility. Having said that, we all know that the real agenda is the raising of taxation.

Asked on 30 June 2012 by MM, via email

Answered by Honest John

Many thanks. I think you got my point that the "exercise in futility" is being funded by the Chinese. When they call in the debt in 10 - 20 years time you'd better be fluent in Mandarin or the closest you'll get to a set of wheels will be a bicycle. The superpowers of the future are China and India. I don't think they'll wage war because they've learned the lesson of history that war ultimately loses far more than it gains. China will take over the whole of South East Asia, as the USA originally feared it would. The power of the USA will diminish. Russia will crumble because it is too corrupt and insufficiently industrialised. Our kids are in for an interesting couple of decades. And 100 hour working weeks, or starvation.

Tags: fuel economy pick-ups co2 emissions suvs driving abroad

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