How Labour plans to clean up the UK's transport emissions

Exclusive interview with Labour shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon

-  DANIEL PUDDICOMBE

During the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the majority of the world’s car manufacturers failed to back a deal to eliminate new car emissions by 2040.

Signatories missing from the deal included the BMW Group, Renault Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Stellantis, Toyota and the Volkswagen Group, while countries such as China, France, Germany and the US also failed to sign the pledge.

According to Jim McMahon, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, the government’s cutting of domestic flight taxes prior to the conference meant the UK (which did sign the pledge) “went into COP26 with a very weak position” to start negotiations.

“The opportunity was there for the government to use the spending review before COP26 to lay the foundations, but we didn’t really see that,” the MP for Oldham West and Royton in Lancashire told us.

“What has the government been doing to support building new battery plants in the UK? What have they been doing to support the building of new hydrogen facilities and investing in the technology early to stabilise the price so that people have confidence to buy the technology and develop it?”

The government might argue it announced in August that it would consult on a £240 million fund to support future hydrogen facilities and launched in May a £1 billion Automotive Transformation Fund.