UK ban on new petrol and diesel cars WILL still be in place from 2030, government confirms – despite Europe easing its own restrictions
- Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has resisted calls to delay the rollout of the ban
- It means cars and vans sold in Britain must be completely zero-emissions by 2035
Britain’s ban on new petrol and diesel cars will still take effect from 2030, despite Europe easing its own restrictions, the energy minister confirmed today.
Grant Shapps said the UK did not have to follow the EU, which has climbed down to allow sales of new internal combustion engine cars running on ‘e-fuels’ only to continue beyond 2035.
Brussels passed a law on Tuesday to stop sales of new cars that emit CO2 in the EU by 2035, but Germany was given an exemption for vehicles that burn carbon-neutral petrol alternatives.
EU law requires all new cars sold to be carbon neutral from 2035 and emit 55 percent less CO2 from 2030 than in 2021. Britain has a policy to stop selling petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 . After that, hybrids will be phased out, so that all new cars and vans will be completely emission-free by 2035.
But despite reports that the UK is considering following the EU’s lead by also allowing an e-fuel exemption, Shapps stressed today that Britain’s policy would not change.
From 2030, cars sold in Britain must be hybrid vehicles and completely zero-emission by 2035. Pictured: A woman charges an electric car in London
Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said the government will not shy away from calls to delay the transition to zero-emission vehicles. Pictured: Mr Shapps arrives at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 28 March
The energy minister told reporters: “I appreciate that the German car industry has its own take on this. We have mapped out our path to the end of pure petrol and diesel sales by 2030.
“There is then a five-year transition period that we have yet to detail… and also, as mentioned here, they will finalize the ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) mandate, which is the number of cars you can sell before you buy regular cars. sells.
‘That all remains the same. We will always look at what is happening or happening elsewhere, but that won’t change our policy.’
He added: “Our plan does not currently have an exemption for e-fuels, but there is also a five-year period to deal with…
“This is not a policy change, we are sticking to our plans. We are not in Europe, we don’t have to do what Europe does in this area – we have always been more progressive in this area than the EU.
“That’s been the case so far and I suspect we want to lean more forward on all of these things.”
Mr Shapps is set to publish his Powering Up Britain energy security plan today – on what has been dubbed ‘Green Day’ – with a range of measures to provide cleaner, more affordable energy sources to power the UK.
There are plans to expand renewable energy by speeding up the planning process to allow for the construction of more solar and offshore wind projects.
There are plans to expand renewable energy by speeding up the planning process to allow for the construction of more solar and offshore wind projects. Pictured: Protesters gather at an anti-ULEZ rally in London’s Trafalgar Square on February 25
Mr Shapps will announce the locations for the UK’s first Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects.
The government has already committed to investing £20bn over the next 20 years in projects aimed at storing 20 to 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, equivalent to the emissions of 10 to 15 million cars.
The energy plan comes less than a year after the previous one, suggesting ministers don’t believe they haven’t done enough to improve the UK’s energy security in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the plans will provide ‘affordable, clean energy from Britain so we can lower energy prices and grow our economy’.