The automotive industry has been very vocal about delivering greener technology, with several countries even offering government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles, including the United States.
Well, one country is taking the process a step further. CNET Roadshow spotted a Digital Trends report revealing that Dutch politicians want to ramp up the transition to eco-friendly vehicles to the point that they're aiming to ban gas- and diesel-powered models in Holland beginning by 2025.
According to the website, Holland's labor party, PvdA, proposed the bill and had it agreed upon by a majority of the country's parliament lower house, Tweede Kamer. If the bill gets passed into law, which is expected, automakers will be prohibited from even selling hybrids and plug-in hybrids, as any new vehicle sold in Holland will be either all electric or powered by hydrogen.
While the goal is definitely an ambitious and admirable one, it's being met with its fair share of detractors.
Digital Trends points to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VDD) calling PvdA's bill being "overambitious and unrealistic," with VDD minister of economic affairs Henk Kamp estimating that only about 15 percent of new vehicles sold in Holland in less than 10 years' time will be all electric.
Another VDD official, Barbara Visser, took that a step even further, sparing no mercy for the PvdA, calling its bill "the wishful thinking of a headless chicken."
Ouch.
To that end, PvdA parliament rep Jan Vos said the proposed bill is an outlined vision for a future free of emissions and that, obviously, it will be a work in progress to meet fruition.
While it's definitely an ambitious bill, we'd like to think it's an aggressively conscious one as well. With the world witnessing the trudge that Volkswagen is continuing to have to deal with as a result of its emissions scandal, why not push for an all-electric or hydrogen-powered society?
The greener, cleaner way of commuting on roads would be a giant plus to the environment and climate. Additionally, if the plan is successful in 2025, other countries around the world could use Holland as a benchmark and platform to emulate and go green themselves.
These Dutch politicians' hearts and will are in the right place. It's just a matter of clearing up regulatory red tape, which always seems to accompany these kinds of ambitious goals.
