Leasedrive Velo Blog

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Interesting to learn the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, an all-party group of MPs, says that plans to increase biofuels will do our planet more harm than good and should be scrapped. Is this why the Government has been so reluctant to get behind biofuels and really subsidise their use?

The thrust of the argument is that the growth of crops for biofuels will damage the economies of developing countries and destroy forests. Additionally, the group argues biofuels are not as green as they are portrayed to be because of the energy required to produce them.

Currently, the Government is committed to making sure at least 5% of transport fuel sold in the UK is biofuel by 2010, half of the EU target set for 2020.

As usual, there is no Holy Grail, with alternatives being sought here and there. When it comes to biofuels, environmentalists argue that specific crops should not be grown for transport but biofuels extracted from waste, sustainable forests and from plants found away from land earmarked for edible crops.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the EU has informed the UK Government that it must increase the proportion of its energy coming from renewable sources sevenfold.

The European Commission has declared its clear objective to reduce Europe’s carbon emissions by a fifth by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. It also wants to generate one-fifth of the EU’s power from renewable sources by that time.

For the UK, this means getting 15% of its energy for electricity, heat and transport from renewable sources such as solar, tidal, wave and wind power plus biomass. Currently, only 2% of the UK’s energy is renewable, the worst figure among major European countries.

I bet your bottom dollar biofuels will be back on the agenda pretty swiftly.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

Good news and bad news in recent weeks.

First, the good news. I understand the Government is starting to get serious about driving standards and that in future it may well be virtually impossible to obtain a full driving licence before the age of 18. Apparently, there is serious talk in the corridors of Whitehall about making the driving test much tougher. Learner drivers would need to gain experience of night driving and motorway driving before entering the test.

I agree on both counts, although great care would need to be taken over allowing supervised learner drivers onto a motorway. Perhaps that could only be done with a trained instructor in the passenger seat and after so many hours behind the wheel. The time surely will have to come when only professionally-trained drivers will be allowed to sit the test and drivers will have had to have completed a minimum number of signed-off hours before being eligible for a full licence – a bit like a light aircraft licence where pilots are required to have flown a minimum 40 hours before qualifying.

Second, the bad news. It would appear that many drivers responsible for the maintenance of their own cars, as many as a third of cash-for-car and private car drivers are failing to have proper safety and routine maintenance work carried out. Apparently, for the former, the temptation lies in opting for a prestige car with a non-maintenance contract over a run-of-the-mill car with full maintenance support. The crunch comes when tyres or brake discs have to be replaced, with an unanticipated hefty hit on the personal wallet.

The findings are worrying on three fronts – for the drivers themselves, other road users who may become involved in the resulting accident and employers for whom those same drivers may be driving while at work. In the absence of a robust and regular driver licence, service and MOT checking system, it’s yet another argument for the return to company cars and the use of rental or pool vehicles for non-company car drivers who are required to drive while on company business.

Roddy Graham, Commercial Director

First, may I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year! I trust everyone had a good break and took advantage of the opportunity to relax and spend time with family and friends.

Certainly, the festive break allowed me the time to reflect on a few things.

Looking at the bigger picture, we are probably entering one of the most significant periods in our world’s history. China is set to overtake Germany as the third biggest economy this year and the US elections will see one of the biggest changes ever.

One thing’s for sure, we have to have an improvement on one of the most disastrous Presidents ever. Forget the jokes like, “What happens when you shine a torch in George Bush’s left ear? The light comes out the right one!”, or the fact that one of the most popular selling items over the Pond is a calendar counting down to him stepping from office, history may well determine him to have been one of the world’s worst rulers ever. And I’m not alluding to the mess in Afghanistan and Iraq, or the potential conflict with Iran, I’m talking about America’s ‘head in the sand’ attitude to the environment. As a superpower, it should be leading by example. Instead, a little country like Papua New Guinea has shamed it into almost walking out of Bali. The successor to Kyoto is our last hope of climate salvation and America digs its heels in!

So who should be the next President? A woman or a black person would certainly ring the changes. Barack Obama’s win in Iowa has just been countered by Hilary Clinton’s in New Hampshire. Those are the two hot favourites, as the Democrats are likely to sweep the Republicans. My vote – Barack Obama. He seems streets ahead of the rest in terms of various policy considerations.

Make no mistake. What happens in the USA over the course of the next twelve months will have widespread repercussions for the rest of us. The shame is that the successor to Kyoto will be negotiated while Bush completes his term, even though a new President will have been elected.

I mentioned what happens in the US affects us all. The economic pointers for the USA suggest a recession. Will it happen? If so, will it affect us, and the rest of the world? On the other side of the world, we have the booming economies of India and China to counterbalance the US downturn. If a recession does happen, the likelihood is that it will be short and sharp. The most recent lasted eight months. Over here, today’s retail announcements suggest the high street retailers, bar John Lewis, are struggling. Another pointer? Gordon Brown tells us it will be tough but it does not have to mean a recession. There’s a lot of talk and the worst thing that can happen is that we talk ourselves into a recession. Our company is currently doing fine and so are many others. It’s up to the successful ones to lead the way.

Be prudent but take a positive attitude into 2008. And watch those US elections!