the times | Thursday December 3 2020 2GM 25
News
VERONICA JOHANSSON POULTNEY/BAV MEDIADrivers must not be ripped off by
electric car chargers, the competition
watchdog has said.
The Competition and Markets
Authority (CMA) said that fair prices,
widespread availability and ease of use
were vital as it began an inquiry into the
network of public charging points.
Almost 20,000 points have been in-
stalled by the roadside, in car parks and
in service stations. Research published
in the summer estimated that Britain
may need more than 425,000 by the
end of the decade to coincide with the
ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
However, concerns have been raised
over the pricing and availability of
public chargers. An investigation by
The Times this year found that some
cost up to nine times as much to charge
a car as those installed at homes. One
operator charged up to £23 for the
power needed to drive a car 100 miles.
The CMA said that “range anxiety”
— fear of running out of battery charge
on long journeys — was a central
concern for people considering the
switch to an electric car. “It is essential
that drivers can access a charge point
when they need one,” it said.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of
the CMA, said: “Making the switch to
electric vehicles is key to helping the
UK become greener, which is why it’s
so important that everyone has the
confidence to get behind the move.
Being able to easily stop off at a petrol
station is a standard part of a journey
and consumers must trust that electric
charge points will provide a similarly
straightforward service.
“By getting involved early as electric
vehicles and charge points are still
developing, the CMA can make sure
consumers are treated fairly.”
Almost 76,000 pure electric cars
The government has been guilty of a
“staggering failure” to protect Lon-
doners from air pollution, an inquest
into the death of an asthmatic girl has
been told.
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nine, who
lived 25m from the South Circular, was
exposed to potentially deadly concen-
trations of nitrogen dioxide every year
before she died in 2013, her inquest was
told. Southwark coroners court is ex-
amining evidence that pollution was to
blame for her death. Her case could be
the first time it is registered as a contrib-
uting factor on a death certificate.
Yesterday the court was told that the
Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is re-
sponsible for delivering air quality
policy for the government, knew that
pollutants could be harming residents
in the capital as early as 1999, but failed
to meet legal 2010 reduction targets.
Bill Parish, Defra’s deputy director
and head of air quality and industrial
‘Staggering failure’ to save
Londoners from toxic air
emissions, admitted that the depart-
ment had used “inaccurate” data.
Richard Hermer, QC, for Ella’s
family, accused the government of rely-
ing on “overly optimistic” modelling in
trying to address breaches of air pollu-
tion limits in the years before her death.
He also asked central government
authorities to own up to a “staggering
failure” to properly disseminate impor-
tant information about air pollution.
“It would have been well recognised
prior to Ella’s birth by government that
high levels of nitrogen dioxide were
associated with increased mortality
and morbidity,” he said. “From 2010 on-
wards it wasn’t simply at a level known
to be harmful to life and health, it was at
a level known to be unlawful.
“Throughout Ella’s life those in
central government responsible for air
pollution knew that Londoners such as
Ella were being exposed to those levels.”
Dr Parish agreed, adding: “There was
a recognition that nitrogen dioxide
causes health outcomes that in some
cases might well result in mortality.”
He added that Defra was working on
its communications but it was “clear
that GPs and many other medical
professionals still don’t have the infor-
mation they’re claiming they need”.
The inquest continues.Watchdog to pull
plug on electric
car charge rip-off
have been sold this year, about three
times the total in 2019. However, they
make up only 5.5 per cent of new regis-
trations. A further 50,000 plug-in
hybrid cars — combustion engine
models with a battery for short jour-
neys — were sold, accounting for a fur-
ther 3.6 per cent of registrations.
The sale of new petrol and diesel cars
will be banned in 2030, with hybrids
phased out five years later, to help fulfil
a legal commitment to cut greenhouse
gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Ministers will also investigate ban-
ning the sale of diesel-powered lorries.
A consultation will begin in the new
year, with no date set for any ban.
Research published yesterday by
Transport and Environment, a cam-
paign group based in Brussels, has
called for a ban as early as 2035. It said
that smaller urban and regional
delivery diesel lorries weighing less
than 26 tonnes should be first to be
banned, with heavier vehicles
following by 2040.
The move would pose a huge chal-
lenge to manufacturers because of the
size of the batteries needed. A 16-tonne
electric lorry being developed by Volta,
a UK-Swedish manufacturer, is
expected to enter production in 2022.
Tesla, the US car manufacturer, is
developing an electric heavy-duty lor-
ry that is due for production next year.
The CMA inquiry will focus on how
to develop a competitive sector while
attracting private investment to
increase the number of chargers. It will
also analyse whether motorists using
chargers “have confidence that they
can get the best out of the service”.
It can make recommendations to the
government and issue guidance to
businesses and customers. It is inviting
comments for the inquiry, which is
expected to take less than a year, until
January 5.Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent
Oar inspiring The Great Ouse in Ely was a fine place to see the sunrise. Today is set to be wet and cloudy. Weather, page 67Charlie Parker
clean air
for all