Fear of climate change

is being used to try and win the upcoming Downunder federal election.
It will probably succeed. One of the latest "policies" is that there should be 50% electric cars on the road by 2030 - presumably powered by electricity produced by renewable energy sources.
That appeared in the paper this morning - along with a story about residents in the mid-North of this state being concerned about the potential appearance of wind turbines on the horizon. 
I foresee problems ahead.
I have never owned a car. I don't know how to drive. I avoid using other people's cars unless I must. There are  people who tell me, "But Cat we would give you a ride."
Yes, I know they would. There are times when I would like to accept that ride. Occasionally, very occasionally, I do. I will accept a ride if it is too far for me to pedal, if it is night time, if they are also taking the Senior Cat, or I am doing something for them. When it is too hot, pouring with rain or windy or both, then  I might consider it  if I know I can repay them in some way. Other than that I will pedal thank you. 
It isn't that I want to pedal - although I know the exercise is good for me - it is because I am well aware that there are people who have got themselves into the situation of taking someone somewhere on a regular basis and then been expected to go on doing it long after it has proven convenient to do so. If I do accept  a ride then I expect to fit in with the person giving me the ride. It is my responsibility to be ready when they want to pick me up and to be ready when they want to leave the venue. 
And perhaps it needs to be more like that with other people. Perhaps they need to think of public transport like that. Public transport isn't there for them to come and go as they choose. You have to fit life around public transport. If people thought like that then there would be far fewer cars on the road. We might reach that 50% target of electric cars too. We won't the way people view cars now. 
If there was more demand for public transport then it would become more frequent. It would be more convenient. It might run more often and at times when more people wanted to use it. 
Instead of thinking like that, instead of getting vehicles off the road, the almost-certainly-incoming-government is using fear of climate change to introduce a policy which will have a negligible effect - if any - on the earth's atmosphere. 
It sounds good but it isn't the answer to the problems we are facing. We need to use cars less. We need to use public transport more. We need enough people to use it that it does actually get cars off the road.  When we do that then there might be other advantages too.