Those crafty Icelandic types in Reykjavik have come up with a fantastic strategy for getting drivers to switch to eco-friendly cars: give them a free parking space.

What a genius idea. Especially for anyone who’s encountered the savage efficiency of the London parking authorities. Greenbang’s plumbing mate, a regular victim of the city’s stringent parking laws (usually resulting in colourful verbal assaults to the complaint lines), is one who’d switch in a heartbeat if such a rule came into effect here.

Icelandic drivers are, unsurprisingly, massively keen. Anyone there with a car that consumes less than 5 litres of petrol per 100 kms is eligible for the scheme–and they’ve been falling over themselves to get their tokens. Nice work.

Update: TreeHugger highlights a similar scheme being introduced in Ontario, Canada.

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