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Vehicles: Low-Carbon Cars

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Geoff Hoon) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today publishing the government response to the King review of low-carbon cars. Copies of the report will be available in the House Libraries and a further copy of the report will be available on the Department for Transport website at www.dft.gov.uk. The Government warmly welcome Professor King’s wide-ranging and comprehensive report, published in two parts in October 2007 and March 2008, which set out the technology options likely to contribute to decarbonising road transport. Professor King made a number of policy recommendations ensuring that government, industry and research communities all contribute to reducing carbon emissions from cars. The response document describes how the Government are taking forward Professor King’s recommendations as part of our wider mission to tackle the climate change impacts of the transport sector. Professor King’s report provides grounds for optimism that major reductions in road transport emissions can be achieved in ways that are technologically feasible, affordable and publicly acceptable. Professor King’s recommendations have a particular emphasis on technology and removing barriers to behavioural change. There are various recommendations aimed at driving technology change through EU legislation and promoting the research, development or deployment of relevant technologies to reduce the impacts of vehicles throughout their life cycle. We are working on all these areas with a view to seeing a new car fleet average of 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2020—a target that will require deployment of a range of technologies such as all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars that hold the promise of ultra-low-carbon private transport. We intend to seize the opportunities that a low-carbon transport sector represents, thereby helping to reduce the UK’s emissions from domestic sources and contributing to meeting our greenhouse gas targets as set out in the Climate Change Bill 2008.