Electric cars 'will not have significant green impact'

SWITCHING to electric vehicles will not have a significant impact on Britain's carbon emissions, a new report has warned.

Success depended on the availability of "green" electricity and overcoming a number of major technical problems, said the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professor Roger Kemp, from Lancaster University, who chaired the academy's Electric Vehicles working group, said: "Swapping gas guzzlers for electric vehicles will not solve our carbon emissions problem on its own. When most electricity in Britain is still generated by burning gas and coal, the difference between an electric vehicle and a small, low-emission petrol or diesel car is negligible. We welcome the fact that motor manufacturers are so ready to take on the challenge of developing mass-market electric vehicles.

"We also welcome the new government's commitment to mandating charging sockets for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, but establishing these as the technology of choice for personal transport is only one aspect of what is needed to reduce transport emissions."

Currently, the contribution of renewable and low-carbon generation to the UK's energy supply was one of the lowest in Europe, said the report.

A range of new low-carbon energy sources was needed if Britain was to meet its renewables targets and ensure a greener power supply to electric cars, the report claimed.