UK Is Considering Delaying Its Ban Of ICE Cars

Starting in 2030, every new car sold in the United Kingdom will be required to have zero local emissions. The UK government set this lofty goal in 2020, but according to several British media outlets, the prime minister's office is likely to push it back to 2035.
While the move has yet to be confirmed, the BBC reports that prime minister Rishi Sunak will announce about seven policy changes in the coming days, including a five-year delay on the ban on new combustion-powered cars.
According to the same report, the plan to phase out gas-powered boilers by 2035 will be partially reversed, and Sunak will reassure United Kingdom citizens that his government will not approve new taxes to discourage flying, pass laws to change people's diets, or take measures to encourage carpooling.

"For too many years, politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs. Instead, they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all. This realism doesn't mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments," Sunak said.

Some major automakers that have spent significant money to meet the government's demands have criticised the report.

"We need the policy focus trained on bolstering the EV market in the short term and supporting consumers while headwinds are strong: infrastructure remains immature, tariffs loom, and cost-of-living is high," Lisa Brankin, the head of Ford's British arm, told the Evening Standard. Other industry players worry that delaying the ban on gasoline- and diesel-powered cars will cause EV sales to collapse.

Some members of the British government, however, support the proposed delay. "We must remember that these targets are goals, not constraints, and we will not save the planet by bankrupting the British people," Home Secretary Suella Braveman said.