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The UK will ban the sale of new combustion engine vehicles by 2030, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced today. It will also ban the sale of new hybrid cars by 2035. Johnson made the announcement tonight as part of a new ten-point plan for a “green industrial revolution.”
This is the second time Johnson has advanced the deadline. The original plan was to halt sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040. In February, Johnson moved the target to 2035. He has come under increasing pressure to crack down on gasoline-guzzling cars in order to to meet the UK’s broader goal of eliminating emissions that contribute to climate change by 2050.
“Although this year has taken a very different path than we expected, the UK is looking to the future and seizing the opportunity to rebuild in a greener way,” Johnson said in an emailed statement to the press. “The recovery of our planet and our economies can and must go hand in hand.”
Accelerating the transition to all electric vehicles puts the UK ahead of much of the pack when it comes to promises by other governments to phase out fossil fuel cars. France has a goal of ending the sale of new gasoline consumers by 2040. California recently pledged to do so by 2035. Norway has a more ambitious goal of ending new sales by 2025.
The ‘green industrial revolution’ that Johnson presented for the UK includes a wide range of initiatives to stimulate economic growth and tackle climate change. He also plans to reduce emissions from transportation by investing in public transportation and researching ways to make planes and ships less polluting. The plan also includes efforts to increase carbon-free energy, including offshore wind, hydrogen and nuclear power. The entire plan will cost £ 12bn of government investment ($ 15.9bn).
