The former head of Royal Dutch Shell has gone way out on a limb and urged the European Union to ban all vehicles that get less than 35 mpg, saying it is the only way to significantly address global climate change and force the auto industry to build more efficient vehicles.



"We need a very tough regulation saying that you can't drive or build something less than a certain standard," the Telegraph quotes him saying. "You would be allowed to drive an Aston Martin - but only if it did 50-60 mpg."

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, who spent his career working for the giant oil company, says an outright ban is needed because so-called "gas-guzzler" taxes do not work - and aren't fair because they let those with the means to pay them skirt responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"'It is a social thing," he explained. "We mustn't say the wealthy can avoid doing what is needed by society. When we eliminated coal fires in London we didn't say to people in Chelsea you can pay a bit more and toast your crumpets in front of an open fire. We we nobody, but nobody, could have an open fire."

There's no way in hell the EU would even consider adopting Stuart-Moody's suggestion because it would effectively eliminate the entire luxury and high-performance segments of the auto industry. Still, his comments generated a lot of ink in Britain.

Few took Moody's comments, which appeared in a commentary he wrote and in several news stories, seriously. But Frank Williams over at The Truth About Cars notes that Moody-Stuart's comments aren't so outlandish given efforts by the EU in general and Britain in particular to boost fuel economy. Auto industry reps and auto enthusiasts said such a draconian law would limit consumer choice and cripple automakers.

The Telegraph said it would all but kill premier brands like Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin, all of which have fuel economy in the high teens. Given that the auto industry long argued that raising the average fuel economy to 35 mpg would be a monumental challenge, there's no way a 35 mpg minimum will ever happen. Just 58 of the 1,199 vehicle models listed in the Environmental Protection Agency's 2008 Fuel Economy Guide get a combined city and highway fuel efficiency of 35 mpg or better.

Moody-Stuart says such a requirement would spur innovation within the auto industry, which inevitably would adapt - just as it did when lawmakers outlawed leaded gasoline, required the installation of seat belts and adopted other regulations.

"When we introduced catalytic converters the car-makers said it would put the price of cars through the roof - but it didn't," he told BBC News. "Now we all have to have catalytic converters - that's only right."

Moody-Stuart, who is currently chairman of the mining group Anglo American, says he is a great fan of the free market, "but like most things, they have a failing. Without regulation to channel their power, markets will not deliver things which are of no immediate benefit to the individual making his or her choice, even though they may be beneficial to society."

As for his own vehicle, Moody-Stuart says he's been driving a hybrid since 2001. He isn't arguing that hybrids are the answer and says the market will determine how best to improve fuel economy. "But," he adds, "we must constrain the market in an efficiency framework."