Sursa foto: Pexels
Environment Minister Tanczos Barna announced on Thursday that electric cars will have green registration plates and that these will act as a “green passport”, bringing benefits to owners. The official said that there is a project to this end, agreed between the Environment Ministry and the Interior Ministry.
“We have made this proposal and the Interior Minister Bode supports this initiative. The government will approve the change of numbers for clean cars. More than likely, there will be numbers with green numbers and letters on a white background. I had proposed the opposite – green background with white letters. (…) We will soon have legislation. At that time it will be much easier to give facilities to those cars, in Bucharest or in big cities – starting from parking, access to certain areas – because most of these cities will have to limit the access of polluting cars in certain areas. That green number will be like a green passport for the person who has found the solution and has the will to contribute by personal example to reducing pollution,” said the minister at the Green Report conference “Mobility and the city”, writes News.ro.
The official also said that the Ministry of Environment is in the process of purchasing two electric cars and that staff are in the process of testing several models. He stressed that prices are still high, but that there is still a temptation to lower them.
“I am in a period of research and have tested several electric cars. Until the test we had a hybrid model. The model I tested is a great one, it’s also quite expensive, but that’s how new models are. It is an important step for society and for those who are trying to break the environmental impact, especially in big cities,” added the minister.
Tanczos recalled that Friday is again “Green Friday” and will be travelling to the Ministry by foot, bicycle or metro.
During the conference, the Minister also said that the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Fund Administration (AFM) support those administrative-territorial units (ATUs) that focus on reducing air pollution.
Tanczos pointed out that there are examples of ATUs that have started actions in this direction, but there are also local municipalities that have not worked much on this issue.
“Those plans to improve air quality are often not taken seriously by local authorities. PM 10, PM 2.5 and greenhouse gases – because of these, Romania is likely to continue to be in trouble with the European Commission. The more air quality measuring stations we install, the more accurate, the truer the picture of the air in big cities will be and the greater the likelihood of sanctions if we don’t take action,” said the minister.
Tanczos mentioned the importance of programms that lead to changes in Romania’s car fleet – Rabla Electric, Rabla Plus, clean public transport or the program for the introduction of clean public lighting in all Romanian cities and municipalities.
“The new clean public lighting program starts in the coming days, the program that will help local public authorities to save electricity, to have public lighting with a reduced environmental impact,” the official said.
The minister also recalled that the Rabla Plus program is currently funded to the tune of 600 million lei, and this budget may not be enough either, even though it has already been increased. Companies, including those in the catering or goods delivery sector, want to purchase electric cars and there have been discussions for a state scheme to help them.
One problem with these schemes, however, has been uncertainty, according to the minister, who recalled the delay in approving the state budget this year.
“We need predictability and continuity. Green mobility will have 3-4 times more funding in the next period,” Tanczos Barna stressed.