Plan to bring forward ban to 2035 is welcome, but earlier
switchover is needed alongside major investment in electric
charging network
Reacting to today’s government announcement of a new 2035
cut-off date for the sale of all petrol and diesel
vehicles,Luke Murphy, Head of IPPR’s Environmental Justice
Commission, said:
“The government’s announcement to bring forward an end
to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, and the
inclusion of vans and hybrids, is a welcome step
forward.
“However, we urge the government to go further and
commit to an earlier switchover date of 2030 - which according to
its own advisers would achieve a reduction in costs for
motorists, a greater improvement in air quality and additional
potential economic advantages for the UK in a growing
industry.
“It’s also essential that the government does much more
to get on track to meet its net zero target. As the Committee on
Climate Change (CCC) has shown, the government is currently
significantly off track for the fourth and fifth carbon budgets
and the policy gap has continued to widen in recent
years.
“The longer we wait to take action, the more
challenging, costly and disruptive the necessary changes will
be.”
On making the shift to a zero carbon transport
sector, Luke Murphy said:
“To support the transition to a net zero transport
sector the Government must also significantly increase investment
in sustainable transport supporting more walking and cycling as
well as low-carbon public transport.
“To bring about the shift to electric vehicles, the
Government must support city-regions and local authorities in the
expansion of electric vehicle charging networks, provide
financial incentives to support the early market in electric
vehicles and ensure the electric grid has the capacity to support
additional demand.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
-
The Committee on Climate Change's 2019 progress
report to Parliament is at https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2019-Progress-Report-Summary.pdf
-
The CCC’s report on how the UK can deliver net zero is
at https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-the-uks-contribution-to-stopping-global-warming/
-
IPPR’s cross-party Environmental Justice
Commission was established last year to help develop
the ideas and policies to bring about a rapid green transition
that is fair and just. It is chaired by MP, and . They are joined on the
commission by leading figures from business, academia, civil
society, trade unions, and youth and climate
activism. Its interim report will be
published next month.
-
An edited collection of new thinking on how to put people
at the heart of the transition to net zero can be read
at https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/green-transition
