LONDON: Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, five years earlier than previously planned, as part of what Prime Minister Boris Johnson is casting as a “green revolution” to cut emissions to net zero by 2050.
Johnson, who is grappling with Europe’s most deadly COVID-19 crisis, Brexit trade negotiations and the departure of his most senior adviser, wants to underscore his green credentials as part of what he hopes will be a reset for his government.
“Now is the time to plan for a green recovery with high-skilled jobs that give people the satisfaction of knowing they are helping to make the country cleaner, greener and more beautiful,” Johnson said in a column published in the Financial Times on Tuesday.
Britain last year became the first G7 country to set in law a net zero emission target by 2050, which will require wholesale changes in the way Britons travel, use energy and eat.
In total the plan would mobilize $16 billion of government money, with as much as three times that amount coming from the private sector, and create and support 250,000 highly skilled green jobs by 2030, Johnson said.
The new date for a ban on new petrol and diesel cars is five years earlier than the 2035 pledge made by Johnson in February. The sale of hybrid cars and vans would be banned from 2035 under the new plan.
An extra $266.67 million would create industrial clusters mustering technology to capture, store and use carbon dioxide emissions by the mid-2020s. Another two hubs are projected by 2030, taking the total investment in the technology to $1.33 billion.
Johnson, who has promised to increase Britain’s offshore wind power to 40 gigawatts by 2030 from around 10 GW now, pledged up to $666.67 million for projects trialing the use of hydrogen including for home heating and cooking.
The government would also help to develop large- and small-scale nuclear plants.
Johnson’s plan was broadly welcomed by industry.
“It gives a springboard to the huge opportunities for UK-wide investment and green jobs that a true low-carbon economy can bring,” Josh Hardie, acting director at the Confederation of British Industry, said in a separate statement.
Britain to ban new petrol cars by 2030 on road to net zero emissions
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Britain to ban new petrol cars by 2030 on road to net zero emissions
- Britain last year became the first G7 country to set in law a net zero emission target by 2050
- The new date for a ban on new petrol and diesel cars is five years earlier than the 2035 pledge
Dense toxic fog shrouds Delhi as air quality hits severe levels
- Danish badminton star withdraws from India Open due to Delhi’s air pollution
- Air quality worst since the peak winter smog season in November last year
NEW DELHI: Residents of Delhi woke up to hazardous air quality on Sunday as a thick blanket of toxic smog and fog engulfed the Indian capital region, pushing air pollution into “severe” levels for the first time this year.
Home to 30 million people, Delhi has not recorded a single “clean air” day since September 2023, with Air Quality Index readings hitting high above the 50 score throughout the past two years.
On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.
Based on Central Pollution Control Board data, the overall AQI was around 439–444, with several stations across Delhi reaching almost 500 — the worst since the peak winter smog season in early November.
The air quality is so bad that a Danish badminton star, Anders Antonsen, withdrew from the ongoing India Open, saying the city was not fit to host the tournament. Antonsen, who is the discipline’s No. 3, said in an Instagram story that the decision was due to “extreme pollution.”
While the athlete chose to pay a $5,000 fine rather than spend a few days in Delhi, its residents are left with little choice but to endure its toxic air.
“To protect myself, I use an N90 mask and drink lots of water. Still, in the first week of January, the smog impacted me with a bad throat and cold, hitting me badly. You are always exposed and risk your health,” said Akriti Chaudhary, a student activist in Delhi.
“The situation is worse for those people who live in the industrial area of Delhi and don’t have the luxury of green cover. They suffer a lot. Different parts of the population suffer differently, but the fact is that all suffer one way or another.”
For Dr. D. Raghunandan, a climate expert and member of a newly launched citizen initiative, SSANS, which acts as a pressure group to urge the government to act to improve air quality, the pollution has already become unavoidable.
“You just have to live with it. There is no way you can avoid it. Like 90 percent of Delhi’s population can’t escape it. Those who have a lot of money can stay indoors with air purifiers,” he said.
“We are concerned that not much is being done to contain the problem. What little is being done is cosmetic. You just have a few small water guns going around the city on tempos and spraying water.”
He compared Delhi’s problem to what China’s capital faced before.
“Look at the way the badminton event has panned out. Gradually, the pollution will start hitting. Ten years ago, Beijing was worse than Delhi in air pollution. And many large companies and corporations decided to leave Beijing,” Raghunandan told Arab News.
“Do you think those guys are going to stay in Delhi? If the pollution stays like this, they’ll move out.”
