The choice to mainly take hybrids reflects a desire to green.
In its government agreement, Vivaldi undertook in September 2020 that, by 2026, “all new company vehicles [soient] carbon neutral”. As representatives of the people subject to a duty to set an example, are our ministers following this carbon-free trajectory? We asked them the question.
The 20 ministers and state secretaries who form the federal government have a total of 71 cars, 2 scooters, 4 electric scooters and 4 bicycles at their disposal. Of these 71 vehicles, 37 are hybrids (electric-diesel or electric-gasoline), 18 run on diesel, 12 on gasoline and 4 are fully electric. Considering that electric vehicles are carbon neutral, we observe that less than 10% of the federal vehicle fleet is approaching the objectives. So there is still work.
The two cabinets that have the largest fleet are that of the Prime Minister and that of the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Economy. De Croo (Open VLD) has 7 vehicles (a BMW 5 Plugin Hybrid, two Audi A4 Mild Hybrid, a BMW X3, a Peugeot 5009, a Renault Scenic Diesel and a Volvo S90 Petrol) and three drivers. The firm Dermagne (PS) also has 7 vehicles (a BMW 620d GT Diesel, two VW Golf 8 1.5eTSI Mild Hybrid petrol, a BMW 318da Hybrid Diesel, a Peugeot 3008 Diesel and two Citroën C3 Diesel) and three drivers.
The practices with the smallest fleet are at Ecolo-Groen, at CD&V and at Vooruit. The Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities Sarah Schlitz does not own… any vehicle. “The Secretary of State travels on foot or by transport. And when it is essential to take a car, she rents a Cambio”, reveals his spokesperson. Zakia Khattabi from Ixello also does the majority of her trips on foot. When she has to make an important journey, the Minister of the Environment opts for her electric Volkswagen ID 3. Tinne Van der Straeten chose the Audi E-Tron “because this model is fully electric and was assembled in Belgium. These were two sine qua non conditions for the choice of vehicle”, says his spokesperson. The head cab of the Minister of Energy drives a hybrid. Public Service Minister Petra de Sutter, who has repeatedly hammered home her desire to green public enterprises, has two vehicles, a Volvo S90 Recharge hybrid and a Volvo XC40. The office of Secretary of State for Migration Sammy Mahdi owns two Audis (a hybrid Q5 and an A3). At Meryame Kitir, Minister of Development Cooperation, we shoot with an Audi Q5 (hybrid) and a Skoda Kodiaq (petrol).