Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated impact by 2040 on total greenhouse gas emissions in the UK from Government measures to reduce emissions from vehicles; whether there are interim emissions targets in place; and if so, what they are.

The Transport Decarbonisation Plan, announced last year, will be published later this year. Ahead of that, a call for engagement, setting the scale of the challenge, will include the department’s forecasts of emissions based on current policies. We already recognise the need to go further than current plans, as shown by the announcement earlier this month on new cars and vans.

In that announcement, the Prime Minister set out a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments. The consultation’s purpose will be to identify what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.