Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the Committee on Climate Change that 30 to 70 per cent of cars in the UK should be electric by 2030; and what is their target for the proportion of cars that will be electric by 2030.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recommended in its 2018 progress report that the UK should be aiming for 60% new ultra low emission vehicle uptake in 2030. This is consistent, in terms of carbon, with the ambitions set out in the Government’s 2018 Road to Zero strategy of up to 70% of new car sales to be ultra low emission by 2030 alongside up to 40% of new vans. By 2040, we expect the majority of new cars and vans sold to be 100% zero emission and all new cars and vans to have significant zero emission capability. By 2050 we want almost every car and van in the UK to be zero emission.

Subsequently, the CCC report, published in May 2019, recommended the UK legislate as soon as possible to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; and that by 2035 at the latest all new cars and vans should be electric (or use a low carbon alternative such as hydrogen). The Government will respond to the CCC’s advice in a timeframe which reflects the urgency of this crucial issue.