CLEAN AIR FOR ALL Boris Johnson promises revolution in homes, roads and industry
Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor | Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent | Emily Gosden, Energy Editor
Wednesday November 18 2020, 12.01am, The Times
thetimes.co.uk
Boris Johnson will today unveil a ten-point plan for a “green industrial revolution” which he says will create and support up to 250,000 jobs.
The prime minister says that the plan, which is supported by £12 billion of government investment, will create a “greener, more prosperous future”.
Electric vehicles
The government has brought forward the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by a decade to 2030. It is one of the earliest deadlines of its kind in the world.
Hybrid cars with a combustion engine will be sold until 2035 provided they can drive a “significant” distance in zero-emission mode, probably 30 miles or more. The government has also committed itself to consulting on phasing out new diesel lorries.
Buses, cycling and walking
Ministers have already committed £2 billion for cycling and walking as an alternative to the car. A blueprint published in the summer promised thousands of miles of new cycle lanes and the closure of roads to cars to prevent “rat-running”.
On public transport, money has been allocated for electric and hydrogen buses, with at least one town or city getting a fully electric fleet by 2025.
Jet zero
Earlier this year Mr Johnson said that he wanted the UK to build the first zero-emission long-haul plane. He convened the Jet Zero Council with representatives from the aviation industry and experts to discuss how it could be done.
While short-range electric flight for the smallest planes is already a reality, there are concerns about its viability for short-haul and long-haul passenger flights. Industry has focused on hybrid-electric models, with jet fuel needed for take-off.
Homes and public buildings
The government has pledged to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 as part of plans to make homes, schools and hospitals greener.
Ministers want gas boilers replaced by electric heat pumps, which extract heat from the ground or air surrounding a building. However, they are expensive and poor quality installations have undermined consumer confidence.
Earlier this year the government announced a £2 billion green homes grant scheme, with vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving measures.
Nature
The government has a target of planting 30,000 hectares of woodland a year, which it believes could help tackle unemployment. The Conservative manifesto pledged to increase tree planting to hit the target by 2025 but the government has struggled so far. Just over 13,000 hectares of trees were planted in the year to the end of March, a similar level to the previous year. More than 80 per cent of last year’s total was in Scotland.
Hydrogen
Tens of thousands of homes could be heated using hydrogen instead of natural gas by 2030 under the government’s plans. Hydrogen does not emit carbon when burnt and could enable existing gas pipelines and home heating systems to be adapted with less disruption than electrifying heating.
The government has committed £500 million to support hydrogen, but producing it cheaply and greenly is a challenge; £240 million of the funding will go into new facilities to produce the gas, which is likely to entail using low carbon electricity to make hydrogen through electrolysis.
Carbon capture and storage
Technology to capture and dispose of carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming is crucial if Britain is to hit its net zero climate targets. The plan also doubles the ambition for how many sites will be developed: it now wants to see two carbon capture and storage “clusters” developed by the mid-2020s, and two by 2030. It says this could support 50,000 jobs in areas such as the Humber, Teesside, Merseyside, Grangemouth and Port Talbot.
Offshore wind
The plan reiterates the government’s commitment that Britain would produce more than enough electricity from offshore wind to power every home in the country by 2030. That will entail a huge expansion. The government has said that it will award subsidy contracts next year to support the next wave of offshore wind projects.
Nuclear
A total of £525 million has been pledged “to help develop large and smaller-scale nuclear plants, and research and develop new advanced modular reactors”.
However, there is no word as yet on a funding package to support the proposed £20 billion new nuclear plant at Sizewell in Suffolk.
Green finance
The government has pledged to make London a centre for green finance. Earlier this month Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, announced plans to launch green gilts for investment in green infrastructure projects, while also requiring companies to disclose their emissions. However, big investors are urging the government to go further.
OUR MANIFESTO
The objectives of the Times campaign and the progress towards achieving them:
A new Clean Air Act to confer a legal right to unpolluted air for everyone in the UK
The first Clean Air Act, introduced in 1956 in response to the Great London Smog, was a world first. The new act needs tighter pollution limits based on World Health Organisation recommendations and needs to give local authorities extra powers.
Progress The Environment Bill includes a requirement to set a legally binding target for fine particulate matter, the most damaging form of air pollution, but the government has yet to say what that target will be.
Temporary traffic bans outside schools
All vehicles except buses banned from roads, except main roads, beside schools for 45-60 minutes at drop-off and pick-up times, enforced by automatic numberplate recognition cameras. This will improve air quality, encourage more children walk to school, reduce obesity, and lead to fewer road accidents.
Progress Children at almost 400 schools in London are now protected from air pollution by temporary traffic bans, a fourfold increase since April.
The extension of pre-2016 diesel and pre-2006 petrol pay zones to other cities
Only London and Birmingham have imposed or promised charges on the most polluting cars. Cities with illegal air quality, including Manchester, Bristol, Southampton, Newcastle, Bath and Derby, are failing to restrict these cars.
Progress Birmingham’s clean air zone has been delayed but will start in June next year. One in Bath targeting the most polluting buses, lorries and taxis, but not private cars, will start in March.
Pollution monitors in every postcode
When people are given up-to-date information from live local monitors about air pollution near their homes, they will be empowered to take action and hold politicians to account for promises to clean up the air.
Progress Breathe London has installed a network of 100 advanced monitors on lamp posts and buildings in London. They continuously transmit air quality measurements.
thetimes.co.uk |
