Investment in clean cars and charging part of climate plans

More money for electric cars, on-street charging points and planting trees has been unveiled as part of efforts to drive down climate-warming emissions.

The Government has published its long-awaited “net zero” strategy ahead of crucial UN Cop26 climate talks which the UK is hosting in Glasgow, which ministers hope will set an example to other countries on how to go green.

In what it describes as a “landmark strategy” it details planstomeetlegaltargetstocut emissions to net zero by 2050, cutting pollution as much as possible and using measures such as woodland creation to mop up what remains.

But critics were quick to warn the strategy, which runs to more than 360 pages, did not provide enough policies or investment to drive the transformation needed to reach net zero.

The strategy would support 440,000 jobs in new sectors or for people moving from highcarbon industries to cleaner ones, such as boiler fitters retrainingascleanheatpumpengineers, and unlock £90 billion in private investment in 2030 on the way to the mid-century goal, according to the Government.

Shifting to a clean economy will also reduce the UK’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and the threat of global price spikes, which has been seenintherecentenergycrisis.

Officials insisted the policiesinthestrategywoulddeliver carbon cuts needed to meet UK legal targets in the 2020s and 2030s and deliver on commitments to cut greenhouse gases by 68% by 2030 under the global Paris climate accord.

But details of how they measure up to close the current gap between the targets and the emissions cuts from action the Government is already taking have not been published.

New investment in the plans includes £620 million for electric vehicle grants and infrastructure such as onstreet charging, £500 million for innovation projects to develop new clean technologies and £140 million to help green hydrogen projects get off the ground, officials said.

And the Government said it will introduce a zero emission vehicle mandate setting targets for a percentage of manufacturers’ new car and van sales to be zero emissions each year from 2024.

Thestrategyalsocoverscutting emissions from the power sector, including supporting new nuclear plants, and industry, and measures to remove carbon dioxide from the air.

The strategy says it will work “with the grain of consumer choice”, not forcing people to change their habits, rip out their boilers or scrap their current car.