The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recommended that the government ban the sale of plug-in hybrids (PHEV) at the same time as fossil-fuel cars – in 2030 instead of 2035.
The call to action comes in the CCC’s Progress in Reducing Emissions report to Parliament.
In the report, it said the Carbon Budget Delivery plan (CBDP) acknowledged new evidence showing that the carbon savings from plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars are around three to five times lower in the real world than previously assumed. This means that the carbon savings accrued from the adoption of PHEVs are substantially smaller than in the Net Zero Strategy analysis.
The report said it was positive that this evidence has been incorporated into the modelling as it emphasises the importance of prioritising battery-electric vehicles (BEV) over less efficient and less cost-effective PHEVs. The CCC said the government should use this evidence to justify either permitting only BEV sales or setting a very ambitious definition of ‘significant zero-emission capability’ when deciding what vehicles will be allowed to be sold in the period 2030-2035.
