Net Zero Strategy sets out how UK will meet climate targets

The government has launched its Net Zero Strategy, setting out the support being made available to transition to clean energy and green technology.

As part of the strategy, another £620 million for targeted electric vehicle grants and infrastructure has been announced, with a focus on local on-street residential charge points.

A further £350 million of the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) has also been released, to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains.

There's also a commitment for £140 million Industrial and Hydrogen Revenue Support scheme to accelerate industrial carbon capture and hydrogen, bridging the gap between industrial energy costs from gas and hydrogen and helping green hydrogen projects get off the ground.

Another key policy within the strategy is a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. This will help to speed the transition to zero emission vehicles by enforcing car firms to make EVs account for an increasingly large part of their fleet. The government has said they will publish a further consultation in early 2022 on the design of the ZEV mandate (including uptake trajectories) and CO2 emissions regulation (as a backstop to ensure standards in the remainder of the fleet are maintained); and how and when targets will be set and enforced.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "We’re going further and faster than ever to tackle climate change. Together with an additional £620 million to support vehicle grants and charging infrastructure, our plans for an ambitious zero emission vehicle mandate show that we’re leading the world on the switch to EVs.

"We published our Transport Decarbonisation Plan in July which was just the start – as we look ahead to the COP26 climate change conference and beyond, we need to continue our efforts to deliver its ambitious commitments. This will provide certainty to drivers and industry as we create sustainable economic growth, boost job opportunities and clean up the air in our towns and cities."