The UK will invest £ 1.3bn in expanding electric vehicle charging stations. (Representative)
London:
Britain will ban sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles from 2030 as part of a 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution” to be unveiled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday.
The British Prime Minister has allocated £ 12 billion (€ 13.4 billion, $ 15.9 billion) for the large-scale plans, which he hopes will secure up to 250,000 jobs and help achieve the UK’s carbon neutral target by 2050.
The proposals include quadrupling offshore wind power in a decade while increasing hydrogen production capacity for industry, transportation, electricity and homes.
Investments will also be made in zero-emission public transport, alongside research on zero-emission planes and ships, and to make cycling and walking “more attractive”.
The plans contain broader goals to make Britain a “world leader” in carbon capture technology and the city of London a “global center for green finance”.
The government will also spend £ 525million on the development of large and small-scale nuclear power plants and new advanced modular reactors, in a measure that may anger environmentalists.
Johnson hopes the ambitious proposals can help deliver on promises to reduce Britain’s severe regional inequalities and undo some of the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
They are also seen as an opportunity to reset his faltering government and align with the priorities of US President-elect Joe Biden, before the UK hosts global climate talks next December.
“My 10-point plan will create, support and protect hundreds of thousands of green jobs, while moving towards net zero by 2050,” Johnson said in a statement before releasing the full plan.
“Our green industrial revolution will be powered by wind turbines in Scotland and the North East, powered by electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technology developed in Wales.”
“Speculative solutions”
The 2030 ban on gasoline and diesel cars and vans follows what Downing Street called “a wide consultation of car manufacturers and sellers”.
Johnson said in February his government would aim to end those sales by 2035, but would now only allow the sale of hybrid vehicles until this year.
As part of the new plans, it will invest £ 1.3bn in expanding electric vehicle charging stations in homes and streets across England, and make £ 582m available in grants to enable people purchase zero- or ultra-low-emission vehicles.
Meanwhile, nearly £ 500 million will be spent over the next four years on the development and production of electric vehicle batteries.
As part of the proposals to reduce the consumption of carbon-emitting gas, an additional £ 500 million is spent on testing the use of hydrogen in homes for heating and cooking.
The government aims to build a so-called “hydrogen district” within three years, a “hydrogen village” by 2025 and a city of tens of thousands of gas-powered homes by end of the decade.
It is also expected to invest £ 1 billion in a subsidy program launched in September, and now due to be extended for another year, to make public homes and buildings more energy efficient.
Greenpeace praised the package and the “historic announcement” on the vehicles.
The pressure group called the decision a “historic turning point in climate action” which could “put the government back on track to meet its climate commitments”.
“It is a pity that the Prime Minister remains fixed on other speculative solutions, such as nuclear and hydrogen from fossil fuels, which will not get us to zero emissions anytime soon, if ever,” he said. he adds.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
