Private transport is one of the world’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases and the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is fundamental in the fight against climate change.
But are the incentives currently offered by the Scottish and UK governments enough to help achieve our net zero targets, or is ambitious new regulation required?
Electric vehicle targets
The Scottish Government is committed to phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
This target has also been set for the rest of the UK, with all new cars and vans to be zero emission at the tailpipe from 2035.
Consumer concerns
Technological developments are going some way to encourage the transition in private ownership.
Battery costs are falling, narrowing the cost difference between a fully electric vehicle and a conventional fuel car, and fast-charging battery technologies and batteries with a higher mileage range are helping to address the issues of charging speed and range anxiety.
Nevertheless, car buyers are still not making the shift to EVs en masse, so it seems clear that technological innovations alone will not achieve the uptake necessary to meet the 2030 and 2035 phase-out targets.
Government incentives
The UK Government has implemented a range of incentives to encourage the EV transition, including grants towards the cost of purchasing a new zero-emission car - supplemented in Scotland by an interest-free loan - and towards installing a domestic charge point. Funding is also provided to businesses and public sector bodies to transition their fleets and install EV infrastructure.
However, relying on capital grants is not sustainable nor will it be sufficient to achieve the transition in the timescales that have been set.
New regulations
In its Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the UK Government indicated that greater regulation is required to meet the 2030 and 2035 targets.
It is consulting on whether to tighten existing efficiency-based regulations, requiring new vehicles to emit gradually lower levels of carbon dioxide, or to introduce a ‘zero-emission vehicle mandate’ where manufacturers must sell a certain volume of zero-emission vehicles as a share of their overall sales, backed up by carbon dioxide emission limits.
The aim is to introduce the preferred regulatory framework in 2024. The UK Government also intends to pass regulations to improve the customer experience of public charging, possibly through a single payment metric so drivers can compare prices across different charging networks, and by standardising payment methods.
Further regulations will also ensure that all new-build residential buildings in England with an associated parking space have a charge point and that all new private charge points have smart capability.
The Scottish Government is also consulting on its own updates to the Building (Scotland) Regulations to mandate housebuilders to install charge points in new residential buildings and residential buildings undergoing major renovation.
The UK Government also indicated its intention to put in place a policy and regulatory framework to support increased private investment in public charging infrastructure.
Is this enough?
Introducing a ‘polluter pays’ model of pay-as-you- go road charging or increasing taxes for petrol and diesel cars are some of the more ambitious measures that environmental campaigners and EV manufacturers such as Tesla frequently lobby governments to consider.
One of the goals of COP26 is ensuring that the transition to zero-emission vehicles happens in a timescale consistent with the global warming limits in the Paris Agreement.
It remains to be seen whether the new regulatory measures announced by Scottish and UK policymakers will be enough, or whether their ambitions need to be electrified.
Susan Swan is a senior associate in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s energy and commercial contracts team
