Design of UK’s EV charging network to be unveiled at Cop26

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says zero emissions travel ‘has reached a tipping point’.
Grant Shapps unveils the new EV charging point (Ministry of Transport/PA)
Tess de La Mare10 November 2021

The Government is ready to unveil its new design for a network of electric vehicle charging points it hopes will become as recognisable as the red post box or London’s black cabs.

It is one of a series of announcements on low carbon transport due to be made on “transport day” at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

All new HGVs will now have to be zero emissions by 2040, while new trucks of 26 tonnes and under must be net zero by 2035.

The announcement adds to the UK’s pre-existing pledge to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

(PA)
PA Wire

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “From our roads to the skies, the transition to zero emission transport has reached a tipping point.”

He added: “To support the transition to EVs, it’s integral that we have the infrastructure to support it.

“My vision is for the UK to have one of the best EV infrastructure networks in the world, with excellent British design at its heart.”

Transport day will see the launch of a working group of ministers from 24 countries and industry leaders – including representatives of GM, Ford, Mercedes, and Volvo commit to 100% zero emission new car and van sales by 2040.

Elsewhere, a number of emerging economies including India, Ghana, Kenya, Paraguay, Rwanda and Turkey, will announce plans to shift towards electric vehicles.

My vision is for the UK to have one of the best EV infrastructure networks in the world, with excellent British design at its heart.

Grant Shapps

It will also see the launch of the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council (ZEVTC), a network of 30 countries agreeing to work together to make zero emissions vehicles the new normal.

Other announcements include 220 million dollars in funding coordinated by the World Bank to support the decarbonisation of road transport in the global south.

Nineteen countries will unveil plans for “green shipping corridors” – ports equipped with the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the shift to zero emissions vessels.

But the UK’s biggest bus and coach provider warned the UK will not achieve the shift to net zero emissions through technology alone, and urged the Government to incentivise the use of public transport.

Martin Griffiths, chief executive of Stagecoach, said: “We need leaders to be honest with citizens that we cannot go on as we are now by simply replacing jams of diesel and petrol cars with jams of electric cars.

Congestion is costing our economy billions of pounds each year, and that cannot be reduced by technology alone.”

He added: “Stagecoach is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in new clean electric buses and making major changes to reduce carbon, but we need the government’s help in encouraging people to switch from cars to more sustainable public transport, cycling and walking.”

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