The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has said that to counteract the effects of severe climate change, new cars and vans powered only by petrol or diesel, will not be sold from 2030 in the UK, however, some hybrids and PHEV’s will be allowed under what he is calling the “green industrial revolution.”
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson
However, critics of the plan say the £4bn allocated is far too small given the scale of what is required. They also point out that this amount is 25th the projected cost for HS2.
A key point of the plan, which includes development of nuclear and renewable energy resources, is a £1.3bn investment in EV charging points, and £582m in grants to people help make the transition to EV. There will also be a grant to support battery manufacturing in both the North-East and the Midlands.
The prime minister said: “My 10-point plan will create, support and protect hundreds of thousands of green jobs, whilst making strides towards net zero by 2050.
“Our green industrial revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales, so we can look ahead to a more prosperous, greener future.”
Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband criticised the plan, saying that the funding “in this long-awaited” announcement does not “remotely meet the scale of what is needed” to tackle unemployment and the climate change emergency.
“Only a fraction of the funding announced today is new.”
He said Labour wanted the government to bring forward £30bn of capital investment over the next 18 months and invest it in low-carbon sectors to support 400,000 additional jobs.
