‘ZEV Mandate must be upheld’

NGOs, think tanks and campaign groups write to government

Environmental groups are urging the UK government to continue supporting the EV transition through targeted policies to boost public confidence and demand.

In a letter to transport secretary Louise Haigh, 14 NGOs, think tanks and campaign groups, have called on the government to uphold the ambition of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate.

The letter is signed by Transport & Environment UK, Greenpeace, EVA England, New AutoMotive, Electric Vehicles UK, FairCharge, Campaign for Better Transport, Green Alliance, Clean Cities Campaign, Social Market Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Climate Group, Onward and Client Earth.

They see the mandate as key to ensuring that existing targets and penalties remain in place and flexibilities remain limited, so as to not undermine the regulation.

The groups argue that the mandate is one of the UK’s single biggest carbon saving measures, and that the current flexibilities provided to the car industry are enough. They point out that the law has boosted the EV supply in the UK ahead of Europe and helped bring down prices for consumers.

But the groups are concerned that the current uncertainty over the future of the mandate is putting investments at risk, particularly in the charging sector. The government should instead pursue targeted policies to boost public confidence and demand for EVs, the groups write.

They state: “Weakening one of the most ambitious and significant pieces of climate policy left behind by your predecessors would be at odds with this Government’s ambition to take a world-leading approach to climate action10. In fact, weakening the ZEV mandate would call into question whether the UK can meet its legally binding climate targets, particularly in view of the requirement to come forward with a new Carbon Budget Delivery Plan by next spring.

“We strongly urge the government to maintain the ambition of the ZEV mandate, build on positive announcements in the Budget to continue supporting the EV transition through targeted policies to boost public confidence, and secure the UK’s position as a major investment destination for clean technology.”
 
The letter can be downloaded here 

The ambition of the ZEV mandate must be upheld

Joint letter from 14 NGOs to UK government

Louise Haigh MP, Secretary of State, Department for Transport
Also for the attention of: Ed Miliband MP, Jonathan Reynolds MP, Lilian Greenwood MP, Kerry McCarthy MP, Sarah Jones MP
 
Dear Secretary of State,

As representatives of 14 NGOs, think tanks and campaign groups, we are writing to call on you to uphold the ambition of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, ensuring that existing targets and penalties remain in place and flexibilities remain limited, so as to not undermine the regulation. The government should instead continue supporting the EV transition through targeted policies to boost public confidence and demand.

The ZEV mandate is one of the UK’s single biggest carbon saving measures to date, and one of the world’s leading supply-side regulations for the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). It has helped the UK to pull in EV supply ahead of the rest of Europe – with the share of new car sales with rising global markets. It is also helping to bring down prices, making EVs more competitive and affordable for the public. Dropping EV prices isn’t a sign of market failure - it’s by design.

Regulations create markets, and that’s exactly what the ZEV mandate is doing for more affordable EVs.

With more affordable models and competitive deals already hitting the market in recent months, EVs have made up over 20% of new sales for three consecutive months, with September seeing a record month for EV sales volumes. We’re likely to see bumper EV sales in the final two months of the year as we have in previous years.

The regulation was heavily consulted on through three extensive consultations, numerous stakeholder workshops and wider, private engagement with industry and civil society groups. As a result of these consultations and engagement, the government at the time agreed to include generous flexibilities for manufacturers for the first three years of the regulation, to provide a softer pathway for those that were further behind on EV development and production. These flexibilities mean that, even though the market is below the headline 22% target for 2024, manufacturers can and will comply as a result of selling more efficient non-ZEV cars, beingb able to borrow credits from future years or purchase credits from other manufacturers.

Collectively, these flexibilities, alongside increasing ZEV sales, are more than sufficient to create an excess of credits in 2024, easing the compliance pathways for all manufacturers to meet targets. If the government was to respond to industry lobbying by granting additional flexibilities, it could undermine the ambition of the regulation by lowering the share of EV sales needed to comply. As a result, it would lower the climate impact of the regulation and make it harder for the UK to hit its legally binding carbon budgets and Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

The regulation provides certainty to manufacturers and the public. Reopening discussions about the ZEV mandate puts at risk investments like the £6 billion committed by the charging industry and the wider £23 billion in EV and battery investment announced in the UK – as well as further denting the confidence of the public.

Yours sincerely,

• Anna Krajinska, Director, T&E UK
• Doug Parr, Chief Scientist and Policy Director, Greenpeace
• Warren Philips, Chair, EVA England
• Ben Nelmes, CEO, New AutoMotive
• Dan Caesar, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK
• Quentin Willson, Founder, FairCharge
• Silviya Barrett, Director of Policy and Campaigns, Campaign for Better Transport
• Nicholas Davies, Head of Climate Policy, Green Alliance
• Oliver Lord, UK Head, Clean Cities Campaign
• Theo Bertram, Director, Social Market Foundation
• Rosanna Downes, Head of Campaigns, Friends of the Earth
• Dominic Phinn, Head of Transport, Climate Group
• Ned Hammond, Head of Energy and Environment, Onward
• Kyle Lischak, Head of UK, ClientEarth