Not Zero or Net Zero? Report calls for new approach
Date: Friday 13 January 2023
The review into net zero, originally commissioned under former prime minister Liz Truss and conducted by the MP Chris Skidmore, has been published.
The report calls for the swift delivery of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate (which forces manufacturers to sell a certain proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) in the lead up to 2030) to apply from 2024 while maintaining regulations and funding to support EV/ZEV uptake and continuing to drive emission reductions from internal combustion engines.
Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE said:
“The Review’s recommendations require not merely action, but careful decisions to be taken. Central to delivering net zero will be making the right decisions at the right time to ensure that we achieve net zero in the most efficient manner possible. Crucial to taking decisions, however, is recognising that to delay making them creates new consequences, the costs of which can be greater than previously anticipated. Equally, rushed and poorly executed decision making can produce adverse consequences with similar costs.”
The Report acknowledged that “while the price of electric vehicles has fallen significantly, on average they still cost more than petrol or diesel vehicles and charging facilities are not yet evenly available across the country.
The Review heard at the roundtables that any cuts to current funding and support would seriously risk undermining the sector at a critical stage.
The report says the government has set ambitious targets to phase-out existing vehicles with internal combustion engines and replace them with zero emission vehicles (ZEV), such as electric vehicles.
For passenger cars and light vehicles, which accounted for more than half of domestic transport emissions in 2020, electrification is considered the most promising technology.
“For heavier, long-distance vehicles as well as maritime and aviation, zero emission technologies are still at an earlier stage of development,” the report said.
“These sectors will likely need to rely on a mix of different technologies, including electrification, hydrogen, low carbon fuels as well as maximizing operational efficiencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, rail already has one of the lowest emission profiles, but more still needs to be done to electrify remaining lines, where possible, and employ other decarbonization technologies as well as shift transport from road to rail.”
You can find a copy of the report here:
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