UK to ban new petrol car sales from 2035

PTI, Feb 4, 2020, 5:11 PM IST

London: Britain will bring forward a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, including hybrids.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make the announcement at an event launching the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, to be held in Glasgow in November.

The changes bring forward the ban by five years – and now include hybrid vehicles.

Britain has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, with a mixture of cuts and off-setting pollution measures such as planting trees.

At the COP26 launch event in London, Johnson will be joined by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and naturalist David Attenborough.

Johnson will urge other countries to join Britain in striving towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal through investment in cleaner technology and efforts to protect natural habitats.

Edmund King, president of Britain’s AA motoring association, said the new target on car sales was incredibly challenging.

“We must question whether we will have a sufficient supply of a full cross-section of zero-emissions vehicles in less than 15 years,” he said.

He also urged the government to cut the sales tax on electric vehicles to make them more affordable.