Ban on Petrol and Diesel cars brought forward to 2035 announced at COP26 Launch

Originally the ban was due to begin in 2040 but has now been set for 2035 after experts claimed that the original date would be too late if the UK is to hit its net zero carbon target.

The last COP conference was a major let-down after it ended with very little being agreed upon by the thousands of attendees who had jetted to Spain from all over the world. In November, Glasgow will host COP26 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is eager to ensure that real action will be agreed upon.

“Hosting COP26 is an important opportunity for the UK and nations across the globe to step up in the fight against climate change. As we set out our plans to hit our ambitious 2050 net zero target across this year, so we shall urge others to join us in pledging net zero emissions. There can be no greater responsibility than protecting our planet, and no mission that a global Britain is prouder to serve,” the Prime Minister said at a launch event for the conference.

However, the conference has already been thrown into drama after the former COP26 president Claire O’Neil was sacked last week. She hasn’t gone quietly having written a scathing letter that accuses the government and the Prime Minister of failing to support her work. Mrs O'Neill has accused the PM of promising support but failing to deliver.

"The cabinet sub-committee on climate that you promised to chair, and which I was to attend, has not met once. In the absence of your promised leadership departments have fought internal Whitehall battles over who is responsible and accountable for (the conference)" said O’Neil.

There have been suggestions that Mrs O’Neill was sacked because she had underperformed at the World Economic Summit in Davos and had declared the Paris Agreement dead.

Under the new proposals, Hybrid cars have been including in the same category as Petrol and Diesel. If the plans are carried out, then people will only be able to buy electric or hydrogen cars and vans.

“A new 2035 target will still leave the UK in the slow lane of the electric car revolution and meantime allow more greenhouse gases to spew into the atmosphere. The government can show real leadership ahead of COP26 by reversing plans to develop climate wrecking roads and runways,” said Mike Childs from Friends of the Earth.

The AA meanwhile has warned that the target date will be ‘incredibly challenging’ and questions abound whether such a goal is even realistic.

Car industry body the SMMT says government plans to bring forward a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035 are "moving the goalposts".

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive said the move was "extremely concerning".

"A date without a plan will merely destroy value today. So we therefore need to hear how government plans to fulfil its ambitions in a sustainable way, one that safeguards industry and jobs, allows people from all income groups and regions to adapt and benefit, and, crucially, does not undermine sales of today’s low emission technologies, including popular hybrids, all of which are essential to deliver air quality and climate change goals now."

A total of 37,850 battery electric vehicles were sold in the UK last year. While that number was a 144% increase on 2018, it still represented just 1.6% of the total UK car market. By comparison, 1,498,640 petrol-engine cars were sold (64.8% of the total market), with 583,488 diesel (25.2%).

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