We’ve known for some time that air pollution kills. However, until this study was published, we didn’t know quite how many people in Aotearoa it was killing and how many of those premature deaths were due to harmful emissions from motor vehicles.
As you might imagine, this is quite expensive from a social cost point of view. The study estimated social costs of vehicle emissions alone to be at least $10.5 billion a year. Unfortunately, this burden is not shared equally. My own air quality research finds people living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas are three times more likely to be exposed to unhealthy levels of vehicle pollution than those in the least socioeconomically deprived areas (ESR, 2023).
It’s not just the air we breathe each day either; transport is one of our largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for 17 per cent of New Zealand’s gross emissions.
On the bright side, this presents a big opportunity. It means transport policy that reduces vehicle emissions can deliver significant benefits for public health, the climate and the national economy. A triple win.
The clean car discount was quietly and successfully achieving that triple win, so it is disheartening to hear the new government is giving it the boot. Even more alarming is talk of decisions being made in the absence of consideration of the benefits and costs via regulatory impact statement.
Carefully considering available, robust and relevant information on the costs and benefits of a proposal before making decisions is good practice. It encourages a systematic and evidence-informed approach.
Despite Thursday’s move to remove the clean car discount, I urge the Government to explicitly consider the social costs of air pollution in its policy decisions.
Now is the time to come up with a better alternative that allows us all to breathe easy.
Lou Wickham is director and senior air quality specialist at Emission Impossible Ltd
