Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a ban on the sale of petrol cars on (a) carbon emissions and (b) levels of pollution in the UK.

As a result of the significant reductions to carbon emissions from energy generation, transport is now the highest carbon emitting sector; cars accounted for more than 50% of emissions in 2019. Ending the sale of internal combustion engines, alongside setting intermediary zero-emissions vehicles sales targets leading up to 2035, is expected to reduce this by roughly 60% by 2035 and 98% by 2050, compared to 2019 levels. Vehicle emissions are also among the two largest controllable sectors for air pollution. Ending internal combustion engine sales will remove tailpipe air pollution produced by cars and vans, including some of the most harmful emissions such as PM2.5 and NOx.