Diesel and petrol ban… UK needs energy strategy

Posted on July 26th, 2017

The UK needs a proper 50-year energy strategy to ensure it remains at the forefront of green technology, according to the Chamber.

Chris Hobson
Reacting to the announcement that all new cars and vans sold in the UK after 2040 will have to be electric, the Chamber’s Director of Policy, Chris Hobson, said: “Energy costs, security and availability perennially rank among the top concerns of our members. We have been saying for some time that the UK needs a proper, costed, 50-year energy strategy and this morning’s announcement offers an ideal opportunity for the Government to deliver one.

“What the UK needs is a cross-party, all department initiative, some proper joined-up thinking, to demonstrate how we secure immediate energy supplies, make best use of the resources currently available to us, including shale gas, and develop new technologies for the future.

“Banning sales of new diesel and petrol cars from 2040, which is only 23 years away, is a headline gesture, as is making a fairly paltry £250m available to local authorities to explore methods for improving air quality. But if we’re still burning fossil fuels in our power stations and running diesel trains on busy inter-city routes then we won’t solve the pollution problem that is driving the ban.

“The East Midlands has the potential to lead the world in the field of the new technologies that will be needed to deliver the Government’s clean air pledges. The Government has to make sure the businesses that will drive the technology get all the support they need.”

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