The United Kingdom (UK) set out a 10-point plan for a "green industrial revolution" to create and support up to 250,000 green-skilled jobs by mobilizing £12 billion of government investment and banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the Prime Ministry announced in a statement late Tuesday.
"Covering clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies, the Prime Minister’s blueprint will allow the UK to forge ahead with eradicating its contribution to climate change by 2050, particularly crucial in the run-up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next year," the statement said.
The expected employment creation under the plan will spur over three times more private sector investment by 2030, according to the statement.
According to the 10-point blueprint plan, the country will produce enough offshore wind to power every home, quadrupling capacity to 40 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, and supporting up to 60,000 jobs.
The UK aims to generate 5 GW of low-carbon green hydrogen production capacity by 2030 to be used in industry, transport, the power sector and homes.
The plan includes advancing nuclear as a clean energy source across large-scale nuclear sites and developing the next generation of small and advanced reactors, supporting 10,000 jobs.
The government plans to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. In that regard, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in the statement that the UK would end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, 10 years earlier than planned.
To support this acceleration, Johnson said £1.3 billion would be invested in the rollout of charge-points for electric vehicles in homes, streets and motorways across England to enable users to charge their cars easily and conveniently.
He also said there would be £582 million in grants offered to those who wish to buy zero or ultra-low emission vehicles as an incentive in getting people to switch to green energy.
“Nearly £500 million will be spent in the next four years for the development and mass-scale production of electric vehicle batteries, as part of the commitment to provide up to £1 billion, boosting international investment into manufacturing bases, including in the Midlands and North East,” Johnson said in the statement.
The target of banning diesel and petrol car sales by 2030 is expected to put the UK ahead of France and Spain by committing to end the sales of these cars by 2040, but to be in line with Ireland and the Netherlands. Norway will be the only country with a more ambitious plan for 2025.
"Emissions from fossil-fuel-powered cars are deadly. They pollute our air and damage every organ in our body, causing chronic disease and premature deaths. So I’m glad that the UK has decided to ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. We need to let go of last century’s technology and make way for the new," World Health Organization (WHO) Director for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, Maria Neira, said in a statement on the subject.
She said the sooner governments around the world realize that putting health at the center of their recovery plans is a win-win for people, the economy and the planet, the better.
This decision of the UK is expected to affect several countries, including Belgium, the US, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Spain, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary and Turkey to adapt or face losing the share of the UK’s car market.
According to the UN Comtrade database, Turkey exports 8.1% of its total car exports to the UK. The country accounts for a significant percentage of exports from 8 out of 15 major passenger vehicle exporting countries, including Germany, Belgium, Spain and France.
The sale of hybrid cars and vans will be allowed until 2035.
The plan also includes further measures in public transport, buildings, carbon capture, nature and innovation.
"Although this year has taken a very different path to the one we expected, I have not lost sight of our ambitious plans to level up across the country. My Ten Point Plan will create, support and protect hundreds of thousands of green jobs, whilst making strides towards net zero by 2050," Johnson said in the statement.
"Our green industrial revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales, so we can look ahead to a more prosperous, greener future," he noted.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr