The UK will ban sales of new gasoline, diesel, and hybrid cars from 2035—five years earlier than planned.
Britain’s commitment to reducing air pollution began in 2017, when the government revealed long-term plans to stop relying on internal combustion engines.
Countries and cities around the world aim to phase out gas- and diesel-car sales over the coming decades.
Officials in Paris, Madrid, Mexico City, and Athens have pledged to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025. And France is preparing for the elimination of fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2040.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has expressed interest in similar restrictions.
Despite buyer concerns—limited charging points, short vehicle ranges, high costs—owning an EV in the UK is becoming easier: In 2019, a fully electric car was sold every 15 minutes, according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
“We want to go further than ever before,” he said in a statement. “That’s why we are bringing forward our already ambitious target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to tackle climate change and reduce emissions.”
While demand for electric vehicles has surged in Britain, diesel and petrol models still account for 90 percent of sales, Reuters reported.
“There can be no greater responsibility than protecting our planet, and no mission that a global Britain is prouder to serve,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
“[This] must be the year we turn the tide on global warming,” he continued. “It will be the year when we choose a cleaner, greener future for all.”
Rhyming activism aside, Johnson has recently been criticized for his lack of climate change understanding.
Ten months before the UK is set to host the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Boris fired event president Claire O’Neill.
“The prime minister has made incredibly warm statements about this [climate change] over the years,” newly unemployed O’Neill, the former Conservative minister for energy and clean growth, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
“He’s also admitted to me that he doesn’t really understand it,” she added. “He ‘doesn’t really get it,’ I think is what he said.”
O’Neill’s job will now be handled by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
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