climate protection
Trucks with internal combustion engines will disappear from UK roads to meet the country’s climate change goals. It will take years for the planned ban to take effect.
View of a motorway south of London.
Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire/DPA
London (DPA). Great Britain wants to ban the sale of diesel and gasoline trucks by 2040 at the latest. The measure is part of a government project to significantly reduce emissions from traffic. The target is to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
For this purpose, a ban is to be imposed on the sale of diesel and gasoline vehicles weighing 3.5 to 26 tonnes from 2035 and heavy trucks until the latest 2040, as the Ministry of Transport announced in London on Wednesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had already announced a ban on the sale of classic diesel and gasoline cars for 2030 in November 2020.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps said decarbonization is not just a technical process. Rather, it is about quality of life and contributing to a modern economy. “We will continue to fly on vacation, but in more efficient aircraft and with sustainable fuel. We will continue to drive, but in increasingly zero-emissions cars.”
Transport Association Logistics UK got the approval. Companies now have “confidence and clarity about the steps needed to take them down the path to net zero”. On the other hand, the Road Haulage Association was serious. The association supported the project in principle, but in a way that was unrealistic, a spokesperson said. “These alternative trucks do not exist yet. We do not know when this will happen and it is unclear what a transition will look like.” Many automakers fear higher costs for new vehicles as the resale value of their existing trucks falls .
Great Britain is hosting the world climate conference COP26, which is scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. The meeting is considered an important milestone in reaching a concrete agreement for the further implementation of the Paris Agreement.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210714-99-382048 / 2
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