Fresh calls to ban sale of petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030

Government advisors have called for the 2040 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK to be brought forward to 2030 ‘if feasible’.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) believes greenhouse gases in the UK must be cut to zero by 2050 in order to end the country’s contribution to global warming, and that pushing sales of EVs is key to this, it said in a new report.

Its report states that meeting that goal will only be possible if all new sales of vans and cars are for electric models by 2035 at the latest, though an earlier end ‘would be preferable’. Doing this, CCC says, would also lead to better air quality and lower cumulative CO2 emissions.

Electric vehicles are not the only component to meeting these emissions targets, according to the report, which also suggests ending heating of homes with traditional gas boilers, using electricity from more reusable sources, encouraging people to walk more and eat less meat and dairy, as well as take fewer flights.

Lord Deben, Committee on Climate Change chairman, said: “We can do it, we know how to do it and we will benefit from doing it. We started the industrial revolution, we have been responsible for the biggest segment of the climate change that is happening in our world today.”

In 2017, the Government announced its plans to ban sales of all new petrol and diesel cars in the UK — though later clarified hybrid vehicles would still be allowed on the market.