Clean transport gets $2bn in UK budget, with focus on EV charging hubs

The Driven

The conservative UK government will allocate £1 billion ($A2 billion) to increase a roll-out of electric car charging hubs and extend its Plug-In Grant under its latest budget.

The clean transport focus is part of an £8 million ($A16 billion) in funding being directed to climate change solutions, including carbon capture and tree planting, announced in the 2020 UK budget on Wednesday (UK time) by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.

Sunak said in the two-hour delivery to the British house of commons, “Green jobs, better flood defences, cheaper electric vehicles, innovative new technology. We promised to protect our environment, we’re getting it done.”

Included in the boost to green measures are £500 million ($A 1 billion) to support the rollout of a super-fast DC electric vehicle charging network £533 million ($A1.6 billion) to extend the UK Plug-in Grant schemes for ultra-low emission vehicles to 2023.

Other green measures include freezing climate change levies on electricity and increasing tax rates on gas from April 2022, although fuel duty will also remain frozen despite its environmental impacts.

Another £300 million ($A600 million) will go towards tackling toxic nitrogen dioxide emissions in towns and cities.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated sister site, The Driven, click here…