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Experts are urging the government to stick to its pledge to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, saying it is necessary to protect the environment.
In October, former transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan confirmed the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans would apply from 2030. According to this, all new cars and vans should be completely emission-free from 2035 onwards. Between 2030 and 2035, new cars and vans could be sold if they can travel long distances with zero emissions. Petrol, diesel and hybrid trucks weighing more than 26 tonnes could be banned from 2040 following government consultation.
In recent weeks, industry experts have called on the government to go ahead with the ban, as it would mean the UK fell far behind its net-zero emissions target.
Conference Of The Parties 27 was recently held in Sharm el-Sheikh and included a conference aimed at accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles. This will be achieved through the creation of the new Accelerated Zero Emissions Coalition – a platform for leading initiatives working together to achieve a Paris-centric ZEV transition on a global scale.
A support package for Emerging and Developing Countries (EMDEs) has also been rolled out. This is backed by a “global commitment” from donor countries including the UK, US, Germany and Japan.
Alok Sharma, chairman of last year’s Conference Of the Parties 26, said the ZEV declaration signed at Conference Of the Parties 26 was an important milestone that brought together key players to accelerate the transition to 100% zero-emission new vehicle sales in major markets by 2040 and 2035.
He added: “There are still huge opportunities in emerging markets and developing economies which is why I’m pleased to formally launch the Accelerating To Zero Coalition today. This coalition provides the platform for countries to go further and faster and to ensure that no country is left behind.”
InstaVolt chief executive Adrian Keen urged carmakers and key industry players to keep up the momentum of the ban. He also called for stronger electric vehicle infrastructure across the UK to give drivers the confidence to switch.
He said: “It has to go ahead, for the sake of our planet. If we start questioning the deadlines in place and the plan set out to reach them, we will risk harming the confidence of the entire industry.
“While the automotive industry is currently doing great things, it is key that the economic challenges we’re facing are seen as an opportunity to carve our economy into a global leader in the Electric Vehicle industry, and come out of the expected recession greener than before.”
The plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 was described by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a “historic step towards net zero emissions”. The move comes with a £1.8bn pledge to support greater adoption of zero-emission vehicles for greener travel.
Transport was a key element of last year’s Conference Of the Parties 26 climate change conference in Glasgow, with the creation of a transitional committee on zero-emission vehicles and a 2022 action plan.
These are aimed at accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles, aiming to eliminate the sale of polluting cars and vans in key markets by 2035 at the latest and globally by 2040.
To meet future demand, the government provides grants to homeowners, businesses and local authorities to install charging stations and also supports the establishment of rapid charging stations.
This has supported the installation of more than 140,000 private home charging points and 9,000 charge points for staff parking at businesses. It is also working with local authorities and private sector investment to support the development of a network of more than 19,000 public charging points, including more than 3,500 rapid charging stations.
This makes it one of the largest public charging networks for electric vehicles in Europe. Today, drivers are never more than 25 miles from a rapid charging station on UK motorways and major A-roads.
According to Zap Map, there are 35,778 Electric Vehicle charging points across 21,378 charging points across the UK by the end of October 2022. The number of chargers has increased by 35% since October 2021.
Green number plates have also been introduced to raise awareness of clean vehicles on our roads and to help local authorities provide local incentives. The program allows Electric Vehicle drivers to take advantage of local initiatives such as cheaper parking rates and avoidance of Clean Air Zone fees.
In October, the European Union approved an effective ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. The law was described as “good news” by parliamentary negotiator Jan Huitema.
European Parliament and European Commission negotiators agreed that carmakers must achieve a 100% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2035, which would make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel cars.
The deal also includes a 55% reduction in harmful CO2 emissions from new cars sold from 2030, compared to 2021 levels, well above the existing target of a 37.5% reduction by then.
Alongside other regulations targeting cars, the European Parliament agreed that CO2 emissions from new vans must be cut by 100% by 2035 and by 50% by 2030 compared with 2021 levels.
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