Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Letter to the Editor
National Post
300 - 1450 Don Mills Road,
Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3R5
Dear Sir:
Hybrid Honda and Kyoto
Paul Brent ("General Motors comes late to the hybrid party", Monday, June 2, FP6) and Diane Francis ("Kyoto: Dishonest and nonsensical", Tuesday, June 3, FP3) have inspired me to evaluate a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle as a means for Canada to meet Kyoto goals.
Ottawa's "Climate Change Plan" challenges Canadians to reduce their emissions by one tonne per year. It indicates a more efficient vehicle could reduce emissions by one tonne per year per household. Hybrid vehicles are noted as one means of achieving better efficiency. Honda sells a hybrid gasoline - electric model of the Civic which allows for an easy "apple to apple" comparison of a conventional car with it's equivalent hybrid model.
Data from the Natural Resources Canada Fuel Consumption Guide shows the conventional Civic produces 3200 kg of greenhouse gas annually, whereas the hybrid Civic releases just 2249 kg and saves 300 dollars on fuel annually. Thus a civic minded Civic buyer can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne annually simply by ticking off the hybrid option. The additional cost for this is $10,000. If we assume that the buyer could have invested this money at 5%/annum, and that the car lasts 10 years, the net cost of avoiding greenhouse gas emissions is about $1200/tonne. Canada's Kyoto plan is rife with ideas, like this and Diane's window upgrade example of a $4 billion investment for 1.2 megatonnes reduction, which will cost Canadians the earth while doing little to reduce emissions.
On the other hand, large industrial emitters are ensured they will pay no more than $15/tonne for emission reduction credits. Why such differences? It is hard to find more than nefarious nonsense in Canada's Climate Change Plan.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast