LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday that he’s delaying by five years a ban on new gas and diesel cars that had been due to take effect in 2030, watering down climate goals that he said imposed “unacceptable costs” on ordinary people.
U.K. greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 46% from 1990 levels, mainly because of the almost complete removal of coal from electricity generation.
The government had pledged to reduce emissions by 68% of 1990 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.
Automakers, who have invested heavily in the switch to electric vehicles, expressed frustration at the government’s change of plan.
Ford U.K. head Lisa Brankin said the company had invested 430 million pounds ($530 million) to build electric cars in Britain.
Persons:
Rishi Sunak, Sunak, ”, Boris Johnson, backtrack, Prince William —, Will McCallum, Lisa Brankin, Richard Burge, Tara, Hargreaves Lansdown, Clee, Sadiq Khan, Alok Sharma, Peter Cox
Organizations:
—, Conservative Party, Former, United Nations General Assembly, Greenpeace, Ford, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Britain’s Conservatives, Labour, London’s Labour, BBC, Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter
Locations:
New York, Britain, London Uxbridge, Glasgow