UK Brings Forward Petrol and Diesel Ban to 2035

In a positive step forward for climate change activists, the UK government has pledged to advance the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 to 2035. The accelerated deadline is part of a nationwide plan to slash emissions and address the air pollution crisis currently plaguing the UK.

The plan to veto sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles with internal combustion engines was first introduced in 2017. Since then, the government has been under increasing pressure to act faster and significantly reduce alarmingly high levels of air pollution in British cities. Calls to bring forward the deadline have been enhanced by data released by organisations such as the European Environment Agency (EEA), with a recent report revealing air pollution was the cause of around 400,000 premature deaths in 2016.

Pressure builds to roll out nationwide infrastructure

While banning sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2035 is a milestone, making the switch to EVs will require an enormous rollout of nationwide infrastructure. The British government has already pledged an extra £2.5 million towards the installation of an additional 1000 new EV charging points across the country, though there's also the issue of how the national grid is going to cope with increased demand for electricity and where it will come from. Currently, fossil fuels such as coal, gas, oil and diesel provide around 43% of the nation's power. For EVs to have an eco-friendly impact on national emissions, experts maintain the government needs to focus on championing renewable energy such as wind and solar.  

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also in the spotlight regarding carbon emissions, with the UK set to host the United Nations annual climate change summit in Glasgow this November. “We have to deal with our CO2 emissions and that is why the UK is calling for us to get to net zero as soon as possible, to get every country to announce credible targets to get there – that’s what we want from Glasgow,” said Johnson at a recent event in London. “We know as a country, as a society, as a planet, as a species, we must now act.”

Until the transition to EVs is complete, alternative fuels such as LNG will continue to gain momentum. To find out more about the latest developments within the industry, including a shift towards more flexibility, don't miss 'Clear Signals for LNG robust, guided radar sensors ensure measurement accuracy in LNG production'.