The sale of new petrol and diesel vans and trucks will be banned from 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to decarbonise UK transport by mid-century.
The government’s Transportation Decarbonization Plan will stop the sale of all polluting heavy goods vehicles by 2040, with plans to stop the sale of combustion engine vehicles weighing between 3.5 tonnes and 26 tonnes five years earlier.
It also aims to make the UK aviation industry net zero emissions by 2050 through the use of more efficient planes, synthetic fuels and even electric or hydrogen planes as well as carbon offsets. .
According to the government, transport is the main contributor to UK greenhouse gas emissions, with road transport responsible for a quarter of all emissions. As part of its efforts to reduce these emissions to net zero, the government wants to radically change the face of road transport, including banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030 and the announced phasing out of other vehicles. ICE.
Such a move would force carriers, logistics companies and public transport operators to adopt zero-emission vehicles. Tests are already underway on hydrogen trucks but they are not yet commercially available.
The plan also includes a commitment to transition the government’s entire fleet of cars and vans to electrified models by 2027 and legislation to require manufacturers to make all private electric vehicle chargers chargers ” intelligent ”.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said the plan was a “cutting edge” and “credible” way for the transportation industry to reach net zero by 2050, but the program has been criticized for relying on vehicles and technologies that do not yet exist.
Mr Shapps said: “It’s not about preventing people from doing things: it’s about doing the same things differently. We will always fly on vacation, but on more efficient planes, using sustainable fuel. We will always be driving, but increasingly in zero emission cars.
“The transport decarbonization plan is just the start – we will need continued effort and collaboration to deliver on its ambitious commitments, which will ultimately create sustainable economic growth through healthier communities as we let’s rebuild in a greener way. “
Rod McKenzie, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said he supported the goal of decarbonization, but the plan was “blue sky aspirations before … reality.”
He said: These alternative heavyweights don’t exist yet. We don’t know when they will and we don’t know what a transition will look like.
“For many transportation companies, there are fears about the cost of new vehicles and a collapse in the resale value of existing trucks.”
Targets to make domestic aviation net carbon neutral have also been criticized. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas told the BBC the government was “cheating” the public and the ad was a “fancy flight” that relied on technology still in development.
The plan also includes proposals to force automakers to improve the efficiency of new road vehicles and support to encourage “active travel” such as walking and cycling.
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Source: www.bedfordtoday.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-14 15:49:02
