Jonathan Murray, the head of transport at the Energy Saving Trust, said the aim was to concentrate initially on converting private cars to run on LPG, which is now available from 500 stations around Britain at about 45p a litre. He said the trust hoped to bring the price of conversion to LPG down to pounds 500. Under the scheme for cars, grants of 75 per cent will be available to bridge the difference between the price of conventional and electric vehicles. For example the differential between a Peugeot 106 petrol vehicle and an electric version is pounds 6,000. The purchaser will be able to apply for the money after purchase, or for it to be paid to Peugeot as a discount off the car.
Motorists can also play their part by choosing cleaner, fuel-efficient vehicles.
This is not only good for the environment, it can save drivers money on fuel too. The conference centre in The Hague is surrounded by a 5ft high dyke made of 50,000 sandbags built by protesters. The last bag was laid by Jan Pronk, the Dutch environment minister, who is the president of the conference. The latest conference of the parties on the United Nations framework convention on climate change in The Hague. Whether the United States, Japan, Russia and Australia should be allowed to count their forests and crops as credits because they capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.