28 April 2021
Zero emission vehicles and road pricing: evidence session one
Click here to watch the session
This was the first session in the Transport Committee's inquiry on Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and road pricing.
The first half of the session focused on the Government's ambition to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and the measures required to achieve this. Discussions centred on the barriers to consumer uptake of EVs, the role of the plug-in car grant, and the development of a used EV market, the Government’s progress in rolling out charging infrastructure, including the role of local authorities in delivering charge point provision, issues around managing energy demand and upgrades to the Grid, including the Government’s ‘rapid vision’ for high powered chargepoints along the strategic road network, and whether regulation is required to ensure manufacturers sell an increasing number of ZEVs over the next decade.
The second half of the session focused on the case for introducing a national road pricing scheme in the UK, looking at what lessons can be learned from other countries, the technological opportunities and challenges of implementing such a scheme, and the policy outcomes that could achieve public support for road pricing.
Witnesses
Panel One:
- Ed Birkett, Senior Research Fellow on Energy and Environment Policy at Policy Exchange
- Caterina Brandmayr, Head of Climate Policy at Green Alliance
- Sarah Owen-Vandersluis, Head of Public Sector Mobility and Trade Lead Partner at KPMG
Panel Two:
- Eamonn Ives, Head of Energy and Environment Policy at Centre for Policy Studies
- Edward Leigh, Chair at Smarter Cambridge Transport
- Claire Haigh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Greener Transport Solutions
- Professor Philip Booth, Director at Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham, and Senior Academic Fellow at Institute of Economic Affairs