There is a need to decarbonise our economies at ‘pace and scale’, according to LCRIG Chief Executive, Martin Duffy.

He was responding to the commitments made during Transport Day at COP26.

The UK COP26 Presidency is set to announce a landmark road transport declaration with governments, automakers, investors and fleet owners and operators – calling for 100% of new car and van sales to be zero emission by 2035 in leading markets, and no later than 2040 globally.

The UK will also become the first country in the world to commit to phasing out new, non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles weighing 26 tonnes and under by 2035, with all new HGVs sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2040.

The UK has already committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars & vans by 2030.

LCRIG Chief Executive Martin Duffy said: “It is clear that this is the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine. We need to decarbonise our economies at pace and at scale so the actions outlined at COP26 must now be taken forward and delivered upon.

“At LCRIG we stand ready to help our members. A number of them have already made great strides forward in this important area. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the best way to enable change is by working together. That is why the creation of our net zero working group is so vital. We know our members need such a forum to help them understand how they can translate their responsibilities into actions, making it all part of the day job. It is clear that local authorities will sit at the heart of achieving net zero so it is important that we help focus attention and provide a focal point to feed into other industry groups and the DfT.”