Tyrone’s motorists are not driving the green agenda

RECENT data measuring the number of electronic and hybrid cars across the UK found that Tyrone’s three districts were among the slowest to transition towards a greener means of travel – indeed, Mid-Ulster was worst of all.

In fact, of the 375 constitutive areas looked at by the DVLA statisticians, five of the ten worst performing areas were in the North, three of those had territory in Tyrone, and, out of 375, Mid-Ulster came 375th. Yes, the district covering places including Dungannon, Cookstown, Ardboe and Coalisland came dead last in this go-green table, with electric and hybrid vehicles representing a tiny 1.1 per-cent of all vehicles on the road.

However, the difference between rock-bottom Mid-Ulster and Fermanagh and Omagh – who came third from bottom of the table – was trivial: Electric and hybrid cars make up only a meagre 1.36 per-cent of all vehicles on the roads that run from Trillick to Gortin, and Drumquin to Garvaghy.

But even the most green district in Tyrone – Derry and Strabane – had little reason to celebrate, having registered 369th on the list with only 1.65 per-cent of all vehicles being green.

Belfast was the only district in the North which showed comparative promise, placing 94th on the table. However, the swathes of ground which the rest of the districts must make up is demonstrated by the gap between Belfast and the second best performing district, Antrim and Newtownabbey, which came in at 247th.

Car and van emissions are responsible for 17 per-cent of our overall CO2 output here in the North. Reducing vehicle carbon emissions represents a major part of any plan to reduce our overall CO2 footprint.

The lack of progress inherent in these statistics becomes undeniable when contrasted with the statistics coming from London which showed that almost one in five cars there were either electric or hybrid.

Reacting to the figures, the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NIGLA) noted that local councils have been waiting on clarity from the Assembly regarding climate mitigation legislation and targets since 2008.

However, striking a more positive note, they pointed to the Royal Assent recently given to NI’s Climate Act, and predicted that, while the North is indeed suffering from significant lag, the framework is now in place to make up lost ground.