National Grid aims for net zero emissions in US by 2050
UK PLANS TO BRING FORWARD BAN ON FOSSIL FUEL VEHICLES TO 2030
London, Oct, 3: Britain’s National Grid NG.LNGG.N pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its US operations by 2050, including from operations and emissions resulting from the sale of electricity and gas.
The energy company, which serves more than 20 million customers through its networks in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said it has identified 10 areas to focus on, including reducing demand through energy efficiency and demand response, decarbonising the gas network through use of renewable natural gas and hydrogen, reducing methane emissions and investing in large-scale carbon management.
Amid public pressure for climate action, companies, sectors and countries have trumpeted new pledges, from setting net-zero emissions targets to declaring carbon neutrality.
The UK is poised to bring forward its ban on new fossil fuel vehicles from 2040 to 2030 to help speed up the rollout of electric vehicles across British roads. Boris Johnson is expected to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles this autumn with the announcement, one of a string of new clean energy policies to help trigger a green economic recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. The government had hoped to set out the plans as early as this week, according to sources in the energy and transport industries, but the announcement will be delayed until later this year as it focuses on tackling the rising number of Coronavirus cases.
The government has previously consulted on
London, Oct. 3:
plans to bring forward the deadline on sales of new polluting vehicles from
2040 to 2035. It is now expected to take a more ambitious stance following assurances that the UK’s infrastructure will be ready to cope with the shift to electric cars.
The decision to end the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 would put the UK ahead of France, which has a
2040 ban in the pipeline, and in line with Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. Norway will bring in a ban in 2025. The plan, which is backed by the government’s official advisers at the Committee on Climate Change, is likely to emerge alongside the national plans to become a carbon-neutral economy by the middle of the century.