UK zero emission expert shares lessons for NZ 

London-based transport decarbonisation expert James Vickery outlined the incentives and challenges facing the United Kingdom’s zero-emission vehicle rollout during a webinar hosted by New Zealand EV advocacy group Drive Electric.

The UK is legally required to have net zero emissions by 2050 and transport is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) contributors in the region, explained Vickery, head of policy at the Department for Transport’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

The UK electricity grid is “more than capable” of meeting EV demand, says Vickery, adding various incentives for ZEV transport include 15,00 pounds to help meet new electric car costs, 16,000 pounds for vans and up to 25,000 pounds for trucks.

Vickery says the UK has about 110,000 publicly available EV charging connections at 38,350 sites (8kW to more than 150kW) and is putting them in schools too (about 1000 chargers so far),

Landlords can apply for grants to install EV chargers for people in flats too, he says.

Vickery says the UK is considering incentives for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bi-directional charging and possible changes in other zero emission vehicle areas under a new government.

Drive Electric chair Kirsten Corson says there are lessons in the UK’s zero emissions stand for New Zealand.