By 2030 ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars
New petrol and diesel cars will be banned from sale after 2030, it has been announced.
The ban had been planned for 2040 but has been brought forward under Boris Johnson‘s 10-point plan to tackle climate change.
Some hybrids will still be allowed, the Prime Minister confirmed.
Currently fewer than 1% of cars on UK roads are powered entirely by electricity, so the prime minister’s plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will require an enormous investment in the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles.
In the race to clean up motoring, the UK is now in second place after Norway, which has a fossil fuel vehicle abolition date of 2025.
UK car makers have warned about the scale of the challenge, but the government believes that forcing technological change can give firms a competitive edge.
The plan also includes producing enough offshore wind to power every home, developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade, and developing the next generation of small and advanced nuclear reactors.
It is part of what the Prime Minister calls a “green industrial revolution” to tackle climate change and create jobs in industries such as nuclear energy.
Critics of the plan say the £4 billion allocated is far too small for the scale of the challenge.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC Breakfast today that the £4 billion was part of a broader £12 billion package of public investment, which “will help to bring in three times as much in terms of private sector money”.
Mr Sharma said the money would also support the creation of 250,000 ‘green’ jobs.
The government hopes that many of those jobs will be in northern England and in Wales, and that 60,000 will be in offshore wind.
