CCC calls for lower electricity prices to cut carbon emissions, calls heavy vehicle transformation ‘nascent’

The UK’s emissions have halved since 1990. But the CCC said making electricity cheaper will help people feel the benefits of the transition and speed up the uptake of clean electric technologies such as electric vehicles.

The CCC priority recommendations include delivering rapid expansion of the low-carbon electricity system, as well as making electricity cheaper.

In its report, the CCC named the rise in market share for new electric cars (19.6% in 2024) among positive progress. It said that was due to policy set out under the previous government. But it highlighted this year’s “bold policy decisions” on removing planning barriers on renewable deployment, clarity on the clean power mission and the reinstatement of the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel vehicles.

It sounded a note of caution, saying that current encouraging trends may not be sustained, and “Action must accelerate”, but added, “with more action, the UK will hit its legally binding climate targets”.

In the surface transport sector, the CCC said “there are more credible plans and fewer insufficient plans in our 2025 assessment compared to 2024”, but most progress focused on the electric car segment, whereas the CCC described the transition to electric vans and HGVs as “nascent”.

In heavy goods vehicles it highlighted confirmation by Innovate UK of 54 new infrastructure hubs for zero emission HGVs. But while this was said to be a positive development, the CCC said, “the UK Government is yet to firm up a mechanism by which to drive uptake of ZEV-HGVs and the phase-out of diesel HGVs by 2040”.

Other recent regulatory changes and investments made to support the transition for heavier vehicles were largely focused on vans. This included confirmation of a 2035 phase-out date for new vans with internal combustion engines and introduction of a bi-directional ZEV car-van transfer mechanism in the ZEV mandate.