Subsidies for electric cars do not serve green goals, writes Dr Richard Pike, chief executive of the RSC, in a guest column in today's Financial Times.

The FT invited Dr Pike to comment on the news that the government will provide subsidies of up to £5,000 to buyers of electric cars.

In the article Dr Pike asks if spending £150bn subsidising the UK's car fleet is a good way of spending public money to address climate change.

There are more cost-effective means of meeting our commitment to reduce the UK's CO2 emissions, writes Dr Pike.

The full column is available to read online on the Financial Times website.