Reducing Carbon Emissions from Cars
Summary
Over the past 10 years government has spent more than £1 billion to incentivise the take-up of ultra-low emission cars. While there has been an increase in the number of ultra-low emission cars and the required charging infrastructure, carbon emissions from cars have not reduced in line with government’s initial expectations. The lack of an integrated plan with specific milestones for carbon reductions from cars has resulted in a lack of clarity over what value the public money should be delivering. As a result, the departments have not been able to demonstrate value for money from the amounts expended.
The government has set an ambitious target to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The departments need to develop their detailed plans to achieve this goal and now is an important opportunity to learn from previous efforts. This will be a complex transition as moving away from traditional fuel involves significant changes for consumers, fuel suppliers and car-makers. The departments responsible for this transition will require the appropriate skills and capacity to monitor and support all the necessary changes. To achieve this, and deliver value for money, the departments need a much clearer plan for how they will deliver this societal change, focusing on delivering carbon reductions, not solely increased car sales; and a more targeted approach to addressing potential barriers to take-up across the country.