Sorry, I have the same problem as OC, in that I am not a subscriber to the FT, so I can not access the articles you linked to in your post.
Also, my interest is in discussing the best option for the future of transportation, so I am not too keen to start a new thread on the UK's zero emission target, or COVID, or whatever.
I was making the point on this thread that setting targets is sensible (such as Labor's previous target of having 50% of new cars to be EVs by 2035). You appeared to consider the setting of targets as meaningless, to which I responded by highlighting that there usually is a supporting set of legislation in place that is aimed at achieving set targets.
Yes, due to COVID there can be funding pressure as far as incentive programs are concerned, However, if in a post-COVID world, funds out of consolidated revenue are no longer available, the obvious solution is to draw more direct funding from the polluting fossil fuel industry, which ultimately could hasten rather than delay the switch to renewable energy and sustainability.
This would not be some unfair impost on that industry, but merely bringing to an end a decade-long malpractice - akin to the tobacco industry - where the fossil fuel industry is making society at large pay for its pollution including man made climate change impacts.
Yes, the UK and Australia are different in terms of their natural resources wealth. However, again, this has no bearing on the sustainability or otherwise of fossil fuels. Nations are switching away from fossil fuels not because they don't have any, but because they are literally killing their people. Let's hope they never seek compensation from those nations that kept exporting fossil fuels once their damaging effects were understood!
I was a bit confused why you posted the article from The Gaurdian "UK's net zero pledge: what has been achieved one year on?". Rather than arguing against the setting of targets, it is making the point that more could be done towards achieving the set target. Something I am in complete agreement with!
Finally, you write:
"I look forward to the day when I can by a family sized Electric car, with a 600Km range for under 40k..."
That is one reason I bought my electric car... hoping that by paying a bit more than 40k, production volumes for EVs increase and economies of scale will see rapid price reductions so they become price competitive with ICE cars.
I hope you are smart enough to figure out that due to lower maintenance costs and much higher efficiency, an EV will become cost competitive with an ICE car long before it reaches the 40k price point.
