Recommendation 8

HM Government Rejected

Fuelling the future: motive power and connectivity 9 account for a negligible proportion of transport emissions. The cost of introducing EV charging infrastructure everywhere is completely unrealistic and will require massive amounts of taxpayers’ money through government subsidy for electricity generation, infrastructure provision and storage, and basic raw materials for battery production in order to be anywhere near acceptable as an alternative to ICE or hybrid personal vehicles, delivery, farming or construction vehicles. The Government disagrees with this recommendation. To meet the UK’s climate change obligations, the Government is committed to decarbonise transport and make a transition to vehicles that are fully zero emissions at the tailpipe. As set out in response to other recommendations, in 2021, the Department for Transport commissioned Ricardo Energy & Environment to produce UK specific lifecycle analysis of GHG emissions from road vehicles. The analysis concluded that, by 2050, lifecycle (manufacture, use and end-of-life) emissions from battery electric vehicles will further decrease in comparison to other vehicles. This is due to improving battery technology, manufacturing processes, end-of-life treatment, and a further decarbonised UK electricity grid. By 2050, a battery electric vehicle will emit about 81% less GHG emissions compared to a petrol car, compared to 65% less currently, and 43% less than a plug-in hybrid, further improving from 32% currently. Latest research from The International Council on Clean Transportation on the ‘use’ of plug-in hybrids would suggest the gap between plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles is even wider. To support net zero, the deployment of EV charging infrastructure will need to happen across all areas of the country. The majority of this infrastructure is expected to be delivered through private sector investment. The Government funding is being targeted toward areas where the commercial case for charging infrastructure is currently more challenging. The Government believes that rural areas should have the same access to services and technology as urban areas, noting that the vast majority of rural areas are already connected to the electricity network and recognises that this will often require upgrading to support the decarbonisation of transport. However, network infrastructure will also require upgrading to support the decarbonisation of heat, for example, and network companies factor all future requirements into their network investment. Removing EV charging requirements would therefore have an incremental impact, particularly as the largest cost component of upgrading electricity networks is the civil works rather than the size of the assets being installed. Investment in electricity network infrastructure will also bring wider benefits to rural areas, such as increased security of supply. To ensure the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the country, the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will support every local area in England to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. Launched in March, the LEVI Fund will provide £343 million capital and £37.8 million resource funding to local authorities over the next two financial years. This follows the LEVI Pilot which awarded almost £32 million Government funding to 25 local authorities. This will deliver a step change in the deployment of local, low power charging infrastructure across England and accelerate the commercialisation of the local charging sector. 10 Government Response: Fuelling the future: motive power and connectivity One aim of the LEVI Fund is to address regional charging inequality and ensure no part of the country is left behind. The Government has developed a data-led allocation model to award funding, which considers factors such as the level of rurality and the number of vehicles without off-street parking within the local authority. Regarding vehicles and technologies used for farming and construction, the Government agrees that there are different considerations to the decarbonisation of these technologies as their energy requirements are in some cases different to transport. As stated in the Government’s response to the Independent Review of Net Zero led by the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP, and published in the Net Zero Growth Plan on 30 March 2023, the Government intends to publish a non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) strategy which will set out how the sector can decarbonise in line with net zero targets while maintaining competitiveness, attracting investment and supporting growth. To deliver the strategy, the Government is developing its evidence base on NRMM decarbonisation options through continued external research and a Call for Evidence planned for later this year.