16:30 Mike Kane (Labour)

The Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023, which implemented the zero emission vehicle mandate, came into force in January this year. It sets targets for the registration of new zero emission cars and vans as a proportion of total new car and van sales. The draft order will amend the 2023 order for the purpose of facilitating the Northern Ireland Assembly’s decision that Northern Ireland should join the scheme, as well as making some technical updates. This amendment will bring Northern Ireland into alignment with the rest of the UK. It represents an important milestone on the pathway for the United Kingdom to achieve 100% zero emission new cars and vans by 2035 and net zero by 2050.

Once Northern Ireland has joined the ZEV mandate, the ZEV targets and carbon dioxide targets will be applied as a UK-wide average. That means that Northern Ireland’s vehicle market will not, by itself, be required to meet the headline ZEV target in 2025; instead, it will be a part of a UK-wide calculation. It also means that instead of there being two separate emissions regulations to engage with in the UK—one for Great Britain and one for Northern Ireland—there will now be a single framework for new cars and vans. The measure is accordingly supported by vehicle manufacturers, because it will reduce the administrative complexity of engaging with the UK market. It is also supported by the charging industry, as it will give investors the certainty that they need to invest in Northern Ireland as they have in the rest of the UK, where £6 billion of private investment has been committed to the end of the decade. The regulation, as it applies across the UK, is the single largest carbon-saving measure in government and is of singular importance if we are to meet our climate commitments.

The draft order will bring the whole of the UK into alignment, not just in terms of regulation but in terms of ambition for zero emission mobility. It will give investors the confidence to invest in the transition across every part of our great nations and will ensure that nowhere is left behind as our technology and economy evolve.

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16:34 Greg Smith (Conservative)

What is slightly more controversial, however, is the limit of the order and the wider questions that it poses about the Government’s approach to the ZEV mandate, our domestic automotive sector and the transition to de-fossilised and decarbonised forms of private transport. The Labour party had previously been clear that it wished to reverse the Conservative Government’s practical, pragmatic and sensible delay from 2030 to 2035 of the banning of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, yet the draft order will do no such thing: it leaves the 2035 date intact. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government are leaving the 2035 date in place, which would be sensible, or whether we are set to see more orders coming forward? If so, will they come with a wider debate in the main Chamber?

Can the Minister explain why the draft order does so little? It is just tinkering at the edges, with no practical steps to solve the real-world problems that we face. Can he confirm what the Government’s actual plans are to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel internal combustion engine cars? Is there even a plan? What confidence can he give to motorists and car manufacturers alike that the Government value—in a de-fossilised, decarbonised way—the freedom to drive?

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16:38 Mike Kane (Labour)

On the shadow Minister’s substantive point about commitments, let me say that the Government are committed to phasing out new cars that rely solely on combustion engines by 2030. That means that pure petrol and diesel cars will be phased out by 2035, and all new cars and vans will need to be 100% zero emission. That is still our clear commitment.

The shadow Minister said that we were tinkering around the edges of the ZEV mandate. The reality, which counters what he says, is that with the ZEV mandate, the UK mandate is growing faster than any comparable European market as we speak. The number of electric vehicles in the UK market has grown by 13.2% on 2023, which is faster growth than Germany, France, Italy and the EU as a whole. That is not to say that there are not challenges, but this Government will face the challenges through our mission for both growth and decarbonisation. I am proud that we were elected on that mission.

The draft order is technical in nature, as the shadow Minister says, but it represents a shared ambition for the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and now the Northern Ireland Executive to decarbonise our road transport as we make progress to net zero. By bringing Northern Ireland into the ZEV mandate, we can ensure that every part of this country benefits from zero emission mobility and that no community is left behind as we transition to a greener, cleaner future.

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