THE WEST Midlands branch of Friends of the Earth has given a less than luke-warm welcome to Boris Johnson’s plans to bring forward a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035.
Campaigner Chris Crean said while the Government was right to accelerate the phase-out of petrol and diesel cars to curb air pollution and address the climate emergency, the ban should start in 2030 – not 2035.
“A new 2035 target will still leave the UK in the slow-lane of the electric car revolution and meantime allow more greenhouse gases to spew into the atmosphere.
“If the UK Government wants to show real leadership ahead of this year’s climate summit it must also urgently reverse its plans for more climate-wrecking roads, the awful HS2 project and new aviation capacity – and pull the plug on its support for new gas, coal and oil developments.”
