Norway May Ban Gas Cars After 2015
Norwegian Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen, and her Socialist Left Party have put forth a plan that would disallow the sale of new cars that run solely on gasoline after 2015.
Under the plan new cars such as hybrids, that run partially on gas, would still be allowed to be sold in the country, but any cars that only use gas as their power source would be illegal. Cars already on the road would be unaffected.
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“The financial crisis also means that a lot of those car producers that now have big problems … know that they have to develop their technology because we also have to solve the climate crisis when this financial crisis is over,” Halvorsen was quoted as telling Reuters.
While the intention may be good, the practicality of the proposal is insanely questionable — to say the least.
So don’t worry, even though the issue may be used by some of the more reactive arms of the essentially useless mainstream media as further proof that socialism is bad, the real story is that everybody else in Norway thinks the proposal is as crazy as most of you likely do.
According to reports, the plan has no legs due to heavy opposition by Norway’s other two ruling parties and its Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
Although it may seem *slightly* off kilter for the Finance Minister of an entire country to suggest that gas cars be banned, Halvorsen says that her party’s proposal has been largely misunderstood and that the plan wouldn’t cause undue harm to an already devastated economy.
“We know that the world will be dependent on oil and gas for many decades ahead but we have to introduce new technologies and this is a proposal to support that,” she said. “A lot of people thought that this proposal also would go after the cars we already have. That is not the case, it’s the new cars that are bought after 2015.”
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Source: Reuters
Image Credit: Picture of Norwegian Th!nk City EV from the company
It’s easy to judge this proposal down at first, but compare it to lets say the “tobacco law” thats been initiated in many countries by now. 10 years before the law was introduced, the idea of not being able to smoke in bars and cafes would probably be called impossible and predicted a failure. A little out of context you may say, but I think its a fair comperison.
Rosdi;
Its 6 years…not 16.
Learn to count.
Gas is SO last decade.
What we need is a car that runs on criminals
Excellent, hopefully other countries will follow suit. I’ll miss the sound of a V8, but if it saves the world there are always YouTube videos to replay.
Gas maybe it will out but do not think government should out law it. Internal combustion engines might have future burning biomass and generating electricity. We throw away millions tons of biomass that can turning into generator fuel or burn to generate electricity.
I am from Tennesse, and a plan to ban new gas-only-powered passenger vehicles sounds like a reasonable plan.
Norway is not a socialist country…it’s socialistic-democratic. There is a HUGE difference.
We need more leaders advocating strongly for electric and solar cars. Keep pushing and we’ll eventually make the transition… http://www.dasolar.com/solar-energy/solar-powered-cars
All of these predictions are dependent on the status quo continuing.
New technology, environmental changes, a world wide depression, might change what people view as logical consequences.
Here in the U.S. car makers have clung to the gas only models and Toyota is outselling them. Chrysler appears headed to extinction.
Countries that make thoughtful changes, as Toyota has made thoughtful changes, may find themselves in similar advantageous positions.
I think this is a great proposal from Kristin Halvorsen. The auto companies are to greedy and to slow to adopt to a more eco-friendly business fast enough. And as you probably already know, time is not on our side anymore.
No, instead Governments around the world need to introduce legislations like this one to speed up the process of moving towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future. If we don’t and let the corporations and auto companies to decide when and how we won’t have the slightest chance to win over man-made climate change.
And I don’t see this as being impossible to accomplish. There is 6 years until 2015, cars that run partially on gas are still allowed and like the articles says: cars already on the road would be unaffected.
In Sweden one of the right-wing parties (Centerpartiet) have proposed, just like Halvorsen, that cars that only run on gas would be banned by 2025 (they also want to ban the use of oil to heat buildings).