The Missing Metric

EXCERPT

The transition to electric vehicles is vital to tackling climate change, improving air quality in our cities, and will bring benefits to consumers in the form of lower running costs. A rapid reduction in transport emissions is vital if the UK is to meet its commitments: The fifth carbon budget requires the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2028-32 to be 57% lower than they were in 1990. Meeting that target means emissions from all the UK’s cars must be cut from 68MtCO2e today to 33MtCO2e by 2030. The faster the UK can make the transition, the better for the consumer, climate and all those who live near a polluted busy road.

In order to plan the transition to an electric transport infrastructure properly, it is important to find a measure which takes into account transition issues and the long tail of used combustion cars. This research note sets out how we are going to go about measuring the transition to electric vehicles in the UK.