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Boris Johnson confirms mandatory EV charging points for new buildings in England

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by dishanth

Johnson delivered a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today (22 November), where he made the announcement.

The mandate will apply to developers of new residential housing, office blocks and retail sites, as well as to the developers of renovations where there are ten or more parking spaces.

An exact implementation date is set to be confirmed following consultation. To support SMEs in meeting the requirements, a new three-year loan programme with a £150m funding pot will be operated through Innovate UK.

The UK Government estimates that the requirement will prompt the installation of up to 145,000 extra charging points each year through to 2030 – the point at which the national ban on new petrol and diesel car sales will come into effect.

It has been known for several years that rates of current and planned charging point installations in the UK are being outpaced by the growth of the nation’s EV stock. The 2020 Budget saw Chancellor Rishi Sunak reveal that the government was developing plans to ensure that EV drivers are never more than 30 miles away from a rapid charging point, amid a growing body of evidence that there is a “postcode lottery” for charging infrastructure in the UK.

Speaking at the CBI event, Johnson said: “This is a pivotal moment – we cannot go on as we are. We have to adapt our economy to the green industrial revolution.

“We have to use our massive investment in science and technology and we have to raise our productivity and then we have to get out your way.”

“We must regulate less or better and take advantage of new freedoms,” he added, alluding to Brexit.

Before this announcement, developers of new homes were preparing for charging infrastructure mandates from 2025, under the Future Homes Standard.

Johnson confirmed that the Department for Transport (DfT) is also set to announce plans for making public charging points more accessible for those wishing to charge away from home. MPs have repeatedly urged the implementation of simplified payment systems and greater consumer protections for public charging points, as well as appropriate competition measures for this rapidly expanding sector.

Additionally, Highways England announced plans to invest £11m in battery energy storage systems at service stations this decade, to assist with the uptake of EV charging points in areas where grid constraints can hamper installations.

The news comes days after a project working to map out the future of EV charging infrastructure in the UK’s rural regions, trialling solutions in Devon, received grant funding from Innovate UK.

Industry reaction

The Energy Networks Association’s director of external affairs Ross Easton said: “This is great news for those living in new homes, but we must make sure access to charging points is not exclusive – charging points must be accessible to everyone. To truly ‘level up’ charging point access and deliver on the COP26 electric vehicle pledges requires strategic planning at all levels of government, nationally and locally.”

Eversheds Sutherland’s head of UK transport Dominic Lacey said: “The EV charging network needs a huge stimulus that goes beyond ‘on-the-go’ charge points across our roads and highways. Boosting charging availability through planning and building control for new and refurbished commercial and residential sites is a logical step. However, access to cheap and convenient EV charging remains a social and infrastructure challenge for the bulk of traditional urban sites, which lack the capacity, facilities and space to support multi-EV charge points.”

Energy Saving Trust’s group head of transport Tim Anderson called the announcement “important”. He said: “This is a pivotal moment in the decarbonisation of transport and a significant step towards ensuring charging infrastructure is accessible for all. Today’s pledge demonstrates the government’s commitment to build on the ambition of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and pledges made at COP26.”

The REA’s transport policy manager Jacob Roberts said:“Making sure as many people as possible are able to charge at home is key to ensuring that the full cost-saving benefits of EVs are spread fairly across society. Installing EV chargers during building construction is cheaper and less disruptive than retrofitting them later, particularly for shared and communal car parks. This approach will also go a long way to ensuring that grid connections are futureproofed to accommodate the recharging requirements of tomorrow’s EV users.

“However, this is only the tip of the iceberg, and our focus now needs to turn to the existing housing stock, particularly for blocks of flats, rental properties and leasehold properties, where higher costs and complex approval processes need to be overcome.

“We must also continue to develop a network of cost-effective and convenient public charging infrastructure for those living in properties without off-street parking. The REA are aiding the Government as they develop new grant supports targeted at installing EV chargers in such settings. Lastly, increasing the accessibility of charge points will be immaterial if we cannot improve the affordability of electric vehicles too. The REA have long argued for ZEV mandates in the UK and hope that the Government will bring forward these regulations as soon as possible.”

Source Edie

Rishi Sunak could set out green taxes for imports to help UK hit net-zero target

Posted on July 13, 2021 by dishanth

Ministers are drawing up plans to impose carbon taxes on imports from abroad as part of efforts to hit Britain’s net-zero target by 2050, i understands.

The proposals emerged as a “civil war” broke out between ministers over the best way to ensure the public pays for the carbon emissions they produce.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to lay out new carbon taxes this autumn to help the country meet its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also raising money to repair public finances damaged by Covid.

Among the proposals being looked at is a carbon border adjustment tax, which will slap levies on goods arriving from abroad. Such taxes aim to prevent wealthy countries such as the UK from outsourcing their carbon emissions to the developing world – known as “carbon leakage”.

One minister told i: “Carbon border adjustment tax is definitely in the mix. Eventually people will have to tackle the question of consumption – they are going to need to decide if they are willing to consume less stuff imported from China or not.”

For any domestic industry that has a carbon price placed on it, the same price would be placed on imports to prevent cheaper goods flooding the market.

Which products would be targeted has not been undecided, but the EU’s plans for carbon levies on imports will focus initially on the most carbon-intensive sectors, such oil refineries, steel and other metals, and cement.

The measures are under consideration ahead of the UK hosting the COP26 UN Climate Change Council in November. Experts have warned that the Government currently has an “alphabet soup” of carbon taxes and urgently needs to fill the policy vacuum ahead of the meeting in Glasgow.

With the UK welcoming world leaders to COP26, the Chancellor will have little choice but to spell out plans for environmental taxes in an autumn Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review.

Westminster sources said, however, that any move towards a carbon border tax would have to consider the implications it would have with major trading partners, such as the US, and how problematic it would be for post-Brexit Britain to go out and strike trade deals.

Ministers are increasingly at odds over the best way to ensure the public pays for the carbon emissions they produce, with the Treasury in a stand-off with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and No 10.

One source said: “There is a civil war raging between departments as to how the Government can meet its commitments.”

i understands Mr Sunak is pushing for a simpler carbon pricing approach, which would set baseline prices according to which sectors carbon emissions are coming from, while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is eager to focus on regulation.

Boris Johnson is keenly aware he needs to lead the way on the issue, but “the PM likes to spend money more than he likes to tax people”, as one well-placed source put it.

What has become clear is that the burden of who will pay for carbon emissions is shifting from the corporate sector to consumers.

It is widely accepted that petrol and gas will become more expensive, and the idea of taxes on meat and dairy products have also been floated. At the same time, the Government’s attempts to persuade people to upgrade their homes to make them more energy-efficient have largely failed.

There is a growing recognition that ministers will have to do more to allow people to make greener decisions. One Whitehall source said that the Government was “looking at ways to help ‘fuel-poor’ families and incentivise a switch to low-carbon heating”.

A minister said that the Government may end up introducing new rules to speed up the retrofitting of old homes, if existing incentives do not prove enough. They told i: “Retrofitting is really hard. One option is that we could say that old houses have to be redone every time they go on the market, or every time they’re bought.

“But eventually, you’ll probably find that people just don’t want to live in draughty homes anyway.”

Experts have warned, however, that the Government can only hope to raise taxes to generate much-needed funds, while nudging people towards more environmentally friendly choices if there are “viable alternatives”.

Rachel Wolf, Founding Partner of policy institute Public First and co-author of the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto, said it suggests why a “meat tax” is a long way off.

“Agriculture and certainly meat will be the very last thing they price,” Ms Wolf said. “The problem the Government has is if they want to take people with them to reach net zero, they will have to make the costs bearable and there have to be viable alternatives right now, as there could be with electric cars. Telling people to just eat less meat is not viable.”

Source i News