KEY POINTS:
Being eco-friendly carries a certain cachet these days, but enough to pay $33.75 to obtain a sticker proclaiming your car has passed an emissions standards test? Zero Emissions, an organisation that plans a national network of testing stations, hopes so. Where the Government fears to tread, private enterprise has spied an opportunity.
The Auckland Regional Council did its bit to publicise the first of the stations, at Browns Bay, this week. A council-owned 2006 hybrid petrol-electric car proved extremely environmentally friendly, winning a top-rating gold certificate. Compact Toyota models from the North Shore City Council's fleet did similarly well, showing most of their fuel was being used for its intended purpose rather than pollution.
For the motorist, fuel efficiency means, of course, a saving at the pump. But Zero Emissions is probably relying more on a feelgood environmental factor. Its appeal will be to motorists who recognise that the visual emissions test done during warrants of fitness is as ineffectual as the extremely low failure rate suggests, and want a better gauge of their car's state.
However, a voluntary step should not be the answer. The Government has improved fuel standards, but backed away from mandatory emissions testing during warrants. It complains about the cost but, more likely, fears a high failure rate among older cars if a stern universal standard were introduced.
This is an odd approach for a Government that talks loftily about tackling pollution, and voices such concern about climate change. It knows full well that those with enough of an environmental instinct to pay voluntarily for their cars to be tested are not the people likely to be driving smoky old bombs. Emissions testing should be mandatory both for second-hand cars entering the country and those already here.
