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Increase in Bruxell'Air bonus for giving up a car
The Brussels government is increasing the Bruxell'Air bonus that residents can receive for going car-less.
The government has also decided to extend the scheme to anyone who has owned a vehicle for at least a year, compared with two years previously.
The bonus amount varies according to the income of the applicant, from €505 to €705, or as much as €1,010 for households with the lowest incomes.
Those socio-economically vulnerable households – or those with a disabled person – make up 62% of recipients.
Launched in 2006, the scheme initially attracted 500 applications in its first year. However, between 2006 and 2008, the number of applications rose to exceed 2,300 in 2008, setting a new record.
After a few years of decline, a recovery was seen in 2018 - a year marked by the entry into force of the low-emission zone - followed by a further drop during the pandemic.
And in 2021, a new peak was reached with more than 2,000 bonuses awarded. By 2023, however, this figure had fallen to about 1,200.
The idea behind the initiative is to lower air pollution by incentivising people to swap their private car for greener transport, whether that be cycling, public transport, car-sharing, the Modalizy integrated mobility solution or the Victor Cab taxi.
Lacking the budgetary means to implement a similar programme, Flanders plans to tackle the pollution problem in another way, hoping to introduce a subsidy for the purchase of an electric car.
But this idea has sparked criticism from the Council of State, which says that a bonus for the purchase of an electric car is contrary to the constitutional principle of equality between citizens.
The same applies to the prospect of a reduction in the planned bonus amounts along the way, the Council of State said in its opinion.
To reduce CO2 emissions from road traffic, the Flemish government announced last year that it would offer a premium for new and used electric cars.
The plan asserted that, in 2024, the amount will be €5,000 for a new car with a maximum purchase price of €40,000 (including VAT) and €3,000 for a used car.
The bonus would be available if the electric car was ordered after 25 September, provided that it was not registered until 1 January 2024.
The government earmarked a budget of €20 million for this measure, but the Council of State suggested that it was important to consider whether demand will be higher than expected.
Photo: Benoit Doppagne/Belga
Comments
Carrot and stick method. Now we are in the carrot phase, soon we will pass onto the stick phase in which if you still dare own a car you will be punished. By the way, I do not own a car so it is not a personal issue.
Subsidies for electric vehicles? Why? They are not environmentally friendlier! Their batteries alone will wreak more havoc as garbage than they did during the excavation and mining of their materials.
To reduce CO2 on the streets?
Why do we need to do that?
There is no real science behind this CO2 nonsense. Just pseudoscience pouring down on us through computer models that have been failing on their predictions since almost a century ago.
Based on these computer models all coastline cities should have been under 6 feet of water by now.
So should have been many island nations but on the contrary, they now have more land mass than ever.
The ice caps should have disappeared.
The pastures should have turned to dust-bowls but on the contrary, about 52% of the earths surface is getting greener rather than turning brow every year now, thanks to CO2.
But before someone starts screaming "source source", lets do something any one can verify within seconds or a minute or so all by themselves:
Even if anthropogenic CO2 measurements are correct, then humans produce 3% of atmospheric CO2.
How much is that in real terms?
Let's see: atmospheric CO2 is 0.04% times 3% increase (due to human activity, cows and all), gives us 0.0012% increase in atmospheric CO2 .
That's not a 12% increase!
It is not 1.2% increase either!
It is a meer 12 tenthousands of 1%!
This means that human activity increases global atmospheric CO2 by:
12 parts
out of the 10.000 parts
that we have cut a 1% of CO2.
If you believe that this amount of change in CO2 is capable of driving climate change then you may as well believe that a single grain of sand standing tall and mighty (!!!) in front of the solid-chain-tracks (made of steel-plates) of a tank, is enough to block it from advancing.
How about if the media invites dissenting voices (not jokers) to tell and explain their side of the story so we, the people, decide for our selves on what the heck is going on.
We have democracy, don't we?
We have free speech, don't we?
Well, lets hear the opposing side, maybe they have something important to say. And if they don't, we will know right away, we are not dumb!
This has gone too far.
That's my humble opinion.
Good evening to all!
Bullshit!!