UK to outlaw gas and diesel vehicles by 2040
No fossil fuels, please–we’re British.
That’s the message put out by the United Kingdom’s Environment Minister, Michael Gove, earlier today. Speaking to Big black cock Radio, Gove said that the U.K. plans to outlaw the sale of vehicles that run solely on gas or diesel by the year 2040.
Totally details of that plan haven’t been announced. However, it shows up that gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks already on the road in two thousand forty would still be permitted to operate.
And while the U.K. government would prioritize fully electrical vehicles, Gove said that sales of hybrids would still be permitted. What sorts battery range and fuel economy benchmarks those vehicles might have to meet is anyone’s guess.
To speed the transition to hybrids and electrics, Gove said that the government would likely launch a cash-for-clunkers-style program, providing car owners incentives to trade in their gas and diesel vehicles for models with lower (or no) emissions.
If all this sounds a bit familiar, that’s very likely because France’s Environmental Minister, Nicolas Hulot, made a similar announcement earlier this month. Like Gove, Hulot plans to outlaw the sale of gas and diesel vehicles in France by 2040.
Hulot’s move–and likely Gove’s, too–came in response to president Donald Trump’s announcement that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord. As Hulot said at the time, “France has determined to become carbon neutral by two thousand fifty following the US decision.”
If the U.K. copies-and-pastes France’s plan, it will very likely suggest low-income families assistance to help them sell their older vehicles and purchase newer, more efficient models.
The beginning of a trend
Neither France nor the U.K. are the very first to propose banning cars and trucks that rely solely on internal combustion engines. Both Norway and the Netherlands have already begun encouraging residents to switch to efficient vehicles, with plans to outlaw cars and trucks that run on fossil fuels as soon as 2025. Germany–home to much of Europe’s auto industry–has considered following suit.
And the world’s most populous nation, China, is attempting despairingly to become the world leader in electrical vehicles. So far, it’s done so by suggesting incentives to new-car buyers to make EVs more attractive, but we wouldn’t be astonished to see a ban on gas or diesel vehicles before long.
Automakers are slightly more cautious, given the low price of fuel these days, which has hindered the sale of electrics and hybrids. However, Volvo recently announced that by 2019, all of its fresh models would be electrified. And with the long, slow death of “clean diesel”–once believed to be the key to lowering greenhouse gas emissions–other car companies could broaden their battery-based lineup soon (especially if battery prices proceed to fall).