‘Car’bon footprints

Our Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said it is “criminal” to drive around in SUVs and BMWs that typically run on diesel, a commodity heavily subsidised in India for farmers and priority sectors. However, rich owners of luxury vehicles also come under this umbrella of subsidised diesel, which along with LPG and kerosene, is costing the exchequer Rs 51,000 crore. This is an amount, India as a developing country cannot afford, apart from the carbon emissions these vehicles belch out.
Obviously, the immature solution that came to my mind initially was blanket cancellation of diesel subsidy. Then came another wave of thought that suggested a creation of a two-window outlet of diesel, the subsidised one for farmers and the non-subsidised one for the SUVs and other luxury vehicles. This was again a self-defeating solution as it would lead to a thriving black marketing. I then borrowed a suggestion of the Kirit Parikh Commission that an additional levy on such luxury car owners would limit their sales. Discouraging the use of such fuel-guzzlers through stinging fiscal barbs might discourage buyers and thereby bring down the sales and carbon emissions too. But will the automobile lobby that has a lot at stake in the industry be a silent observer to this leash? Environmentalists are also crying hoarse over lack of an efficient public transport system to ensure reduction in carbon emissions.
There is an emotional angle to this too. The aspirational levels of middle class Indians have grown. The previous generation, which travelled sleeper class in trains and boarded buses to college and work, now wish they and their children could travel in comfort. They want to relive their youth through their children, and in the process have forgotten to imbibe the virtues of a green lifestyle into the psyche of the generation next. Buying a bike for college-going children so that they need not rub their shoulders with sweaty fellow passengers is a vacuum of wisdom. The lure of commercials backed by easy consumer loans has also made it easier for the middle class to satiate its appetite for luxury. Then, there is this typical urban “let’s go on a long drive” culture. I personally feel such aimless drives are not remotely romantic. Added to that are the blobs of carbon footprints they leave behind. The romantics can probably try long bicycle rides. It could recreate the old-world charm.
Finally, there is the pressure of peer. The increasing system of living in gated communities has led to being “noticed” in vehicle upgrades. This psyche of owning a high-end vehicle elevates their standing among the community, prodding to more me-too owners of such cars. But such emotional arguments obviously cannot find itself a solution to fuel -guzzling cars and carbon emissions. And it will certainly not succeed in awaking green consciousness.
In any case, green campaigners prodding people to use bicycles for short distances or public transport are branded outrageous suggestions by the affluent middle class. And, this argument does not even reach the ears of the upper class, which fancies keeping a fleet of high-end fuel-guzzlers.
So, carbon emissions cannot be argued on an emotional platform. Research on increasing the vehicle’s efficiency of fuel consumption will probably atone for our sinful marks of carbon footprints.