Reports that the Government is considering watering down the 2030 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate should concern anyone who cares about Britain’s economic future, energy security, and the cost of living.
At a time when other countries are racing to adopt the industries of the future, weakening the UK’s commitment to electric vehicles would be a step backwards. It risks leaving Britain tied to the economy of the past rather than embracing the technologies that will drive growth, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.
What is particularly disappointing is that ministers appear not to have learned the lessons of recent years. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East exposed just how vulnerable the UK remains to global fossil fuel markets. Families and businesses paid the price through higher energy costs, while the Government was left scrambling to respond to events entirely outside its control.
The obvious response to these shocks should be to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. Instead, the Government now appears willing to slow it down.
The economic consequences of continuing our dependence on petrol and diesel are significant. The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that repeated fuel duty freezes cost the Treasury around £120 billion between 2011 and October 2024. That is £120 billion that could have been invested in modern transport infrastructure, hospitals, clean energy projects, and the industries that will underpin future prosperity.
The scale of our reliance on fossil fuels is often overlooked. Every year, the UK consumes around 70 billion litres of petrol and diesel. Yet that figure tells only part of the story. A further 23 billion litres of energy are used extracting, transporting and refining those fuels before they even reach motorists. Consumers are not simply paying for fuel at the pump; they are supporting an inherently inefficient system that increases energy demand, deepens our reliance on imports, and contributes to poor air quality.
The national interest is clear. We should be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
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