Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h/t Dr Willie Soon / Steve Milloy – the Italian government has proposed plans to subsidise sales of electric cars, by taxing sales of gasoline and diesel cars.

Italy proposes measures to spur sales of low-emission cars DECEMBER 5, 2018 MILAN/ROME (Reuters) – Italy plans to offer subsidies of up to 6,000 euros ($6,800) to buyers of new low emission vehicles and will increase taxes on new petrol and diesel cars, two government officials said on Wednesday. Concerns over climate change are pushing European lawmakers to tighten emissions regulations, but the car industry says that would harm its competitiveness. Italy’s Lower House Budget Committee approved an amendment to the 2019 budget introducing a bonus for people who buy a new electric, hybrid or methane gas-powered car from Jan. 1, 2019. If approved, the incentives will run until 2021 and total up to 300 million euros a year. … “It will become more and more attractive to buy less polluting cars,” said Infrastructure Undersecretary Michele Dell’Orco and Industry Undersecretary Davide Crippa in a statement. Dell’Orco and Crippa are both members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement which is keen to phase out fossil fuels and promote the use of electricity generated from renewable sources. …

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-cars-incentives/italy-proposes-measures-to-spur-sales-of-low-emission-cars-idUSKBN1O41MU

This move seems quite a political gamble for the 5-star movement.

In March this year the anti-EU 5-star movement rode a wave of populist outrage against illegal immigration, to topple establishment parties and win control of the government.

Drastic action to reduce pollution might play well in the cities – large Italian cities like Rome sometimes suffer severe air pollution. But a lot of poor Italians likely won’t be able to afford a new electric vehicle, even with the subsidy. With the limited battery life of electric vehicles, there doesn’t seem much point buying a second hand electric vehicle.

Electric vehicles might also increase risk to life for Italian drivers during winter. Mountainous areas of Italy can experience harsh winters, with deep snowfall and life threatening cold. Batteries don’t work well in severe subzero conditions, and batteries are a bad option for drivers stuck in the snow, who need their vehicle’s heater to stay warm.

At the start of this year parts of the Italian Alps were buried under snow.

Extreme amounts of snow (2-3 m) in Cervinia, Aosta Valley, NW Italy (2000 m) today, Jan 9! Over 10 000 people are reported to be stranded due to extreme amounts of snow. Report: Maurizio Bedon / Meteo Triveneto – Segnalazione in tempo reale. pic.twitter.com/uq67gTY6LZ — severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) January 9, 2018

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