A long awaited plan to decarbonise the UK’s transport sector has been delayed by the government for lacking ‘ambition’…
Decarbonisation Plan Delayed
The government has officially delayed its decarbonisation plan, claiming that it lacks ‘ambition’. The plan is intended to pave the way to the 2030 ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles. This isn’t the first time it’s been delayed either. It was first delayed at the end of 2020.
Rachel Maclean explained in Parliament that she wasn’t satisfied with the draft that’s been submitted. She said, “I am not satisfied with the draft because it does not meet the ambition we need in order to reach those incredibly challenging targets”. She explained that she couldn’t provide a release date at the time, but suggested that the Department for Transport would publish it soon.
Whatever the plan suggests, it’ll represent the first time the government has committed itself to decarbonising every form of transport in the country. It’s also a crucial part of the government’s legal requirement to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Three Key Policy Areas
Maclean has explained that the government is working on three key policy documents over the course of 2021. She said, “the first is a delivery plan that will set out key Government commitments, funding and milestones… for the 2030 and 2035 phase-out dates. It will deal with the question whether we will have a zero-emission vehicle mandate”.
An infrastructure strategy document will follow, “as part of this strategy we are working with local authorities, charge point operators and other stakeholders to ensure that our future charging infrastructure is practical, accessible, reliable and achievable, alongside outlining all the key roles and responsibilities for all actors in the EV charging sectors”. Finally, the Green Paper on the UK future CO2 emissions regulatory framework is being brought forward. This will set out how the UK will phase ICE cars and vans and support the carbon budgets.
Finally, Maclean pledged to support home charging. She said, “we are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at the moment and we have consulted on plans to introduce a requirement for every new home to have a charge point, where there is an associated parking space. We will publish our response soon”.
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