Sales in the United Kingdom of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and vans will be banned from 2030, 10 years ahead of the government’s original plan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Nov. 18.
But hybrid cars and vans that can drive a significant distance with no carbon emissions can be sold until 2035.
Johnson said the government will invest 1.3 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) to boost electric vehicle charge points in homes, streets, and on motorways; 582 million pounds ($651 million) in grants to make it cheaper to buy zero or ultra-low emission vehicles; and nearly 500 million pounds ($560 million) in the next four years in development and mass production of electric vehicle batteries.
Johnson’s plan was broadly welcomed by industry.
“Success will depend on reassuring consumers that they can afford these new technologies,” auto industry group SMMT said in a statement, adding the new deadline posed an “immense challenge” to the sector.
10-Point Plan
The announcement is a part of a 10-point plan that Johnson said was “a green industrial revolution,” aiming to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, as well as creating and supporting up to 250,000 jobs.The government said it would mobilize 12 billion pounds ($13.43 billion) in public funds for the plan and hopes to galvanize three times as much investment from the private sector by 2030.
Other points in the plan include investments in offshore wind, hydrogen, and nuclear power; investment in zero-emission public transport; research projects into zero-emission planes and ships; heat pumps for homes and public buildings; removing emissions deemed harmful from the atmosphere; planting trees; and investing in new “green” technologies.
“This plan can be a global template for delivering net zero emissions in ways that creates jobs and preserve our lifestyles,” Johnson said, outlining his ambition.
The article nodded to the vision he had painted in October of a future Britain “transformed for the better.”
Britain in 2019 became the first G-7 country to set in law a net-zero emission target by 2050, which will require wholesale changes in the way Britons travel, use energy, and eat.