Industry and business widely perplexed by PM’s relaxation of ICE 2030 ban
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pushed back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK from 2030 to 2035.
The Prime Minister said the UK’s “over-delivery on reducing emissions provides space to take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to reaching net zero”. While restating his commitment to reaching net zero by 2050 he said the relaxation of key interim targets offers a “fairer path to achieving the target to ease the financial burden on British families”.
However the announcement has been met with widespread derision from an unlikely coalition of interests from across the automotive, energy, EV charging, business, investment and environmental sectors.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said, “It is hard to understand the rationale for the Prime Minister’s decision to delay the ban on sale of petrol and diesel cars by five years – what message does taking his foot off the gas in this way send to an auto industry that was confident of its ability to hit the 2030 deadline on the basis of a clear and consistent regulatory regime?
“Be they motorists or not, taxpayers might wonder how back-pedalling on the switch to electric cars can be consistent with the Government having put huge sums of public money on the table to support battery production.”
“We estimate that if the UK is to meet its carbon reduction obligations then at least 37% of all miles driven by cars, taxis and vans will need to be zero emission by 2030 – but with only 844,000 of the 33 million or so cars on the UK roads today being pure battery electric that means we have a mountain to climb.
“While many new battery-electric models have been coming onto the market it is a brave assumption to think that this would have happened – or will continue at the necessary pace – without the regulatory pressure of the 2030 ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr added, “Sunak is taking the public for fools. He claims he’s helping ordinary people by playing politics with the climate.
“It will also spook international investors who will be looking for genuine government commitment on the green economy, costing the UK jobs and opportunities.
“Sunak must explain how we will meet our net zero commitments by rowing back on all of the policies to get us anywhere near it.”
Other NGOs including Transport & Environment and Campaign for Better Transport echoed this sentiment, condemning the move as an “attack on industry, climate and consumers”.
In an open letter, they warned, “The 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, and the accompanying zero emissions vehicle mandate, is the biggest carbon cutting measure in the government’s Net Zero Strategy.
“The delay to 2035 blows a massive hole in any serious attempt to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and thanks to the legally binding nature of the target, emissions savings will need to be found elsewhere.”