Hansard

I am pleased that we have the opportunity today to discuss the need for electric car rapid charging points, because it highlights the wider subject of the need to embrace technology in our response to climate change. Dave Thompson has hit the nail on the head in pinpointing human ingenuity as the source of smarter ways to reduce carbon emissions. Innovation is, indeed, the greatest source of progress, and we would do well to embrace technological change as the best way to tackle climate change in a sustainable, cost-effective and transformational way. Travel by electric car is one of the innovations that can make a real and lasting difference, so it is right that we consider how best to encourage it, while taking into account limitations as well as opportunities.

Colleagues will be aware of the benefits of electric cars, and it is good to have heard them highlighted today. Travel by electric car can reduce our carbon footprint, which seems to be an increasingly important concern for some consumers when they are selecting a car. However, it would be unrealistic to expect that to be their only criterion; cost, reliability and range are all important factors for drivers, and such practical concerns must be addressed if we are to see widespread uptake of electric cars. Dave Thompson is therefore right to highlight the importance of rapid charging points, which are particularly important because the range of the batteries that are used can be very short compared to what is offered by a full tank of fuel.

There is a difficult compromise to be made, in that funding for new charging points has to be measured against frequency of use—some do not work if they are not used frequently. Indeed, I have seen reports of some charging stations being left unused for long periods, which puts an inevitable question mark over how justified it would be to divert resources from elsewhere to provide more. Of course, we could end up in a circular argument, because uptake of electric cars can depend on availability of charging points in the first place. Clearly, a balance has to be struck that takes into account the benefits of investment in rapid charging points as well as potential opportunity costs.

The key theme in the motion that I would like to support is that use of environmentally friendly travel options, including electric cars, is about their practicality as much as it is about their green credentials. Increased availability of charging points—and rapid ones, at that—is a good place to start, but we should in the first place put our energy into supporting efforts to improve practicality.

I am no engineer, so I have no idea about the finer details, but we have a wealth of talent in Scotland that has delivered and will continue to deliver leaps forward in technology through innovative thinking. With the right environment and the right support, the problems around the need for charging points can be addressed for the long term by increasing battery ranges. I am sure that we would all agree on that. I take the opportunity to underline my support for and acknowledgement of the human ingenuity that makes such progress possible.

I am glad that we have had this opportunity to discuss the use of electric cars and the challenges that their drivers face. I hope that the key message that we can take away from the debate is that long-term and sustainable progress is made by human ingenuity and that such pioneers set an example that we in Parliament should applaud.