Green transport latest news

The European Commission is being taken to court by a coalition of environmental groups over its refusal to release data on the negative impact of widespread biofuel use in the EU.

Petrol-powered lawnmowers might have made gardening a little easier but they are far from kind on the wider environment; some estimates put the amount of pollution from a lawnmower at four times the amount from a car engine for every hour they are in use.

An electric version of the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, is on display at the Geneva Motor Show. No one knows for certain how much the Nano EV will cost, but it is expected that Tata will once again undercut its rivals on price. At the right price, the car could be the electric car version of the Ford Model T – the first electric vehicle to have mass-market appeal.

Less than one in two primary school children now walk to school. In the three years to 1991 the proportion of children aged five to 10 walking to school in Britain was 62 per cent, but this has now dropped to 48 per cent.