Business Secretary set to explain 2030 phase out of petrol and diesel

The 2030 phase out of pure petrol and diesel new cars will be outlined by Kwasi Kwarteng, the secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), next week during a free virtual conference held by AM's sister brand Smart Transport.

Kwarteng has responsibility for tackling climate change, delivering a comprehensive industrial strategy and ensuring the UK remains at the leading edge of science, research and innovation, while leading the UK Government’s relationships with business.

He will be speaking on the morning of June 8 on BEIS’s approach to decarbonising transport, particularly the electrification of the vehicle industry.

[Register to attend the conference for free]

Kwarteng said: “Cutting emissions from planes, trains and automobiles is critical if we are to end our contribution to climate change by 2050. An essential part of this is our aim to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 – faster than any other G7 nation.

“We are backing up these ambitions with a £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. This will power up our efforts to build back greener by embedding the next generation of cutting-edge automotive technologies in the UK.”

The Public Accounts Committee recently criticised the lack of a clear plan to achieve the 2030 target and to understand the consequences.

After dealers and motor industry trade bodies were disappointed by the latest cut to the Plug-In Car Grant incentive for consumers, they were warned there will be more "overnight" changes to incentives as part of a managed exit from state support for purchase.

Other speakers include Rachel Maclean, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport, and Huw Merriman, chair of the Transport Select Committee who will outline the steps the committee believes the Government should take to address transport decarbonisation.

The key themes of the Smart Transport online conference, which takes place over two half days on June 8 and 9 and is free to attend, are decarbonisation and the future of transport post-pandemic.

More information about the conference at conference.smarttransport.co.uk.