Senior figures in the UK's car industry have expressed concern and frustration with the government's net zero strategy following reports that prime minister Rishi Sunak could be considering watering down some of the country's key commitments, including a ban on the sale of new diesel- and gasoline-powered cars from 2030.
Responding to a BBC report on 19 September, US car manufacturer Ford's UK chair Lisa Brankin said today that relaxing the ban on the sale of new diesel- and gasoline-powered cars would undermine "ambition, commitment and consistency", pointing out that Ford is investing to meet the "challenge" of transitioning to new electric vehicle (EV) sales from 2030.
"We need the policy focus trained on bolstering the electric vehicle market in the short term and supporting consumers while headwinds are strong: infrastructure remains immature, tariffs loom and cost-of-living is high," Brankin said.
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, expressed similar concerns, saying that the "industry continues to invest billions of pounds into these new technologies — electrified vehicles, battery vehicles", with the backing of the UK government. "There is questioning about what is the strategy here, because we need to shift the mobility of road away from fossil fuels towards sustainable transports. And we don't know what is going to happen now," he said.
Responding to the BBC report, Sunak said his government is "committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements we have made internationally — but doing so in a better, more proportionate way". Sunak said he will set out an "important long-term decision" for the country this week. The prime minister's office said today that there was "nothing further to add".
Conservative member of parliament (MP) and former UN Cop 26 climate summit president Alok Sharma, who is attending the UN climate ambition summit in New York this week, told the BBC that it is important to "hear the detail" in the prime minister's upcoming speech on net zero policies. "What businesses want is certainty and clarity on policies because that's the basis on which they make investment and create jobs," Sharma said.
Sharma admitted he was "somewhat surprised" about the potential delay to the ban on new diesel and gasoline car sales because the government reiterated in July that it is committed to the policy. He also warned that if the government scales back on net zero policies in a particular area, higher emissions reductions would have to be found somewhere to hit the UK's 2050 net zero target.
A group of 36 financial institutions warned in August that recent statements and policies by the UK government, including on cars and gas boilers, as well as oil and gas licences in the North Sea, have raised questions about the country's climate ambitions.
A measure to phase out gas boilers by 2035 is also at risk of being reviewed, according to the BBC report. "This is economically illiterate," green MP Caroline Lucas said, adding that consumers in the UK are "paying more than they need to in order to heat their homes because we are locked into fossil fuels".
Central banks have found that early action on decarbonisation will be the cheapest outcome for economies, while UK think tank the Institute for Government noted that "the costs of failing to bring climate change under control would be much larger than those associated with decarbonisation".
The Bank of England said last year that "overall costs will be lowest with early, well-managed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and so limit climate change". If no additional action is taken, some households and businesses "would be especially hard hit", the bank warned.
