Cabinet debate on EV targets on day of PM’s COP speech is terrible optics and self-sabotage – Greenpeace

Commenting on news reports of a cabinet discussion on watering down electric vehicle targets scheduled on the same day as the UK Prime Minister is due to speak at COP31, Nina Navid, senior climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: 

“Andy Burnham’s words at COP31 will only carry as much weight as the action he’s willing to take back home. So mounting the podium while his cabinet discusses slamming the brakes on the rollout of electric cars is not just terrible optics but self-sabotage. The UN is calling on world leaders to floor the pedal on electrification for good reasons: EVs are cleaner and far cheaper to run. We export four of every five cars made in the UK, mainly to the EU, and EVs are where all the growth is. Allowing the UK to become a dumping ground for the obsolete models from the laggards among car makers will come at a high cost to Britons, who’ll keep paying many times more per mile for staying hooked to fossil fuels. But also to Burnham’s credibility on the world stage at COP, where he’ll look about as reliable as a diesel engine’s emissions figures.”

ENDS