The days of fossil-fuel powered cars are really numbered now that the Chinese mainland, the world's largest car market, has said it is drawing up a timeline to phase out these polluting road machines.

Several European countries, including the United Kingdom and France, have similar plans while more and more car manufacturers have said they will begin to cut back production of gas-burning cars in favor of electric or hybrid models. Volvo, for instance, has set a time for moving away from gas and diesel.

But the biggest switch is expected to be made by the major manufacturers, particularly Volkswagen, the world's largest car maker, which said it will offer an electric version of all its 300 models by 2030.

Worsening air pollution in Hong Kong is caused mainly by toxic emissions from the over-population of motor vehicles of all types and sizes clogging the streets at most times of the day. But you'd be wrong to expect that the city will take a particularly aggressive stand in ridding itself of the cause of pollution that threatens public health.

Instead the government, for logic-defying reasons, has vastly cut the tax incentives to encourage sales of electric cars. It argued that the move was part of its effort to cut down the overall number of automobiles on the road.

That's not going to work as the government wants. High tax has never been much of a deterrent to car ownership. Encouraging people to switch to clean cars may not help reduce the car population. But, at least, it can help keep the air cleaner.

There is good reason to slow down the increase in the number of cars to help traffic flow. Since all other measures introduced in the past have failed, the only alternative left is for the government to seriously consider an even more aggressive time-line than London or Paris in phasing out conventionally powered cars.

Once the time frame is set, we can expect private enterprises will see the business opportunities in providing the infrastructure, such as charging stations and battery repair facilities, for electric cars.

(HK Edition 09/15/2017 page9)