Dear [….]
Thank you for contacting me about Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs).
I appreciate your concerns about the decarbonisation of PTWs. Ending the sale of internal combustion engines, alongside setting intermediary zero-emissions vehicles sales targets leading up to 2035, is expected to reduce transport emissions by approximately 60 per cent by 2035 and 98 per cent by 2050, compared to 2019 levels. Ending internal combustion engine sales will remove tailpipe air pollution produced by cars and vans, including some of the most harmful emissions such as PM2.5 and NOx.
The Government has taken steps to support the decarbonisation of PTWs. The Department for Transport has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. This provides funding to offset the higher upfront cost of electric vehicles and more than £1.6 billion to be used to support charging infrastructure.
I am aware that the European Union (EU) recently exempted cars that run on so-called “e-fuels” from the EU decarbonisation program. However, I support the Government’s proposals in their current form. At present, all commercial ICEs produce exhaust emissions that are harmful to health. Though some companies have claimed that hydrogen combustion engines are close to zero CO2 and NOx emissions, I understand that my ministerial colleagues have yet to see evidence that zero harmful emissions at the exhaust are possible in either laboratory or real-world conditions.
Additionally, though I appreciate your concerns about supply chains for PTWs, I am encouraged by the Department for Business and Trade’s work develop robust critical supply chains for the UK. The UK’s work to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, for instance, will enable British manufacturers and industry more widely to diversify their supply chains and spread risk as they minimise reliance on any single country in the sourcing of raw materials, components, and equipment.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Kind regards
THE RT HON GRAHAM STUART
Member of Parliament for Beverley & Holderness
11th July 2023