MPs have launched a brand new report itemizing a variety of suggestions to scale back the nation’s reliance on oil – and it consists of slashing pace limits and introducing driving restrictions at weekends.
Parliament’s Setting Audit Committee has known as for the Division for Transport to seek the advice of on reducing the utmost pace restrict on UK motorways by 6mph to 64mph in a bid to trim automobile gas use.
It additionally known as for ‘car-free Sundays’ in massive cities in addition to encouraging raise sharing for commuters as ministers name for drastic measures to assist decrease oil imports.
May motorway pace limits be lowered to 64mph? MPs have known as for the DfT to seek the advice of on a raft of drastic measures to assist slash gas use and demand for oil imports
The suggestions have been outlined within the committee’s fourth report on ‘Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing power provides‘, which was printed on Thursday morning.
It warns that highway transport emissions have been ‘shifting within the incorrect route’ lately, specifically on account of enhance in gross sales of heavier SUV and crossover vehicles and extra vans on the highway on account of rising demand for deliveries following the pandemic.
It listed factors raised by the Worldwide Power Company (IEA) final yr to restrict gas use and thus scale back oil demand, notably from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The IEA proposed reducing off Russia’s provides by reducing transport-related fossil gas consumption with a variety of proposals.
Amongst these is to scale back pace limits on highways by no less than 10kmh (6mph).
It additionally really useful car-free Sundays and alternate automotive use in massive cities, in addition to the promotion of automotive sharing and practices that lower gas use.
Different recommendations it raised embrace the introduction of working from residence three days every week the place potential, making public transport cheaper and incentivising strolling and biking.
The IEA additionally needs ‘environment friendly use’ of freight vans and items supply, elevated availability of high-speed and evening trains as a substitute of planes, and the avoidance of enterprise journey except it is completely essential.
Parliament’s Setting Audit Committee has backed a variety of suggestions put ahead by the Worldwide Power Company, together with introducing ‘car-free Sundays’ in cities
The company estimates that if these measures – and larger use of electrical automobiles – have been carried out in full they might minimize oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day globally.
‘Adopting the speedy and longer-term suggestions would put the international locations on observe for a decline in oil demand in step with what’s required to succeed in web zero emissions by 2050,’ it added.
Any transfer to chop pace limits on Britain’s motorways can be an enormous distinction to plans to take away them solely, as had been proposed by former Prime Minister Liz Truss throughout her Conservative Social gathering management marketing campaign final yr.
The then-Overseas Secretary mentioned in August that she can be ‘ready to look into’ the novel thought to remodel British motorways right into a German autobahn system with no restrictions on pace.
The suggestions are in distinction to plans for pace limits on motorways to be abolished solely put ahead by former PM Liz Truss throughout her management marketing campaign final yr
MPs on the choose committee mentioned they acknowledge the Authorities’s plan to finish the sale of petrol and diesel new automotive gross sales in 2030 can have a huge impact on decreasing oil demand, however they warned that this might take many years as drivers is not going to be compelled to transition to EVs from that deadline date.
‘One of the best ways to scale back the UK’s future publicity to volatility within the worth of oil is to scale back oil consumption,’ the report mentioned.
‘The speedy progress in electrical automotive gross sales is encouraging, however it would take a few years to interchange petrol and diesel automobiles.’
The report comes the identical day that official business figures confirmed that fully-electric automobiles outsold diesels for the primary time in 2022.
AA President Edmund King (pictured) mentioned the Authorities ought to as a substitute take into account lane self-discipline campaigns to enhance site visitors move on motorways and subsequently minimize gas use
Whereas 16.6 per cent of all automotive registrations being battery-powered fashions, the market share of diesels fell to simply 9.6 per cent.
The Setting Audit Committee recommends that the DfT seek the advice of on measures to decrease gas use, ‘comparable to these listed within the IEA’s ten-point plan’.
They mentioned such insurance policies would assist the UK to ‘enhance power safety, scale back oil demand and minimize climate-changing emissions from transport’.
AA President, Edmund King, mentioned that drivers are already slowing down in a bid to preserve gas and battery vary with petrol, diesel and electrical energy costs greater than typical.
‘Mockingly, we have already got 60mph limits on a few stretches of UK motorways on account of air high quality points and site visitors is incessantly slowed down on different motorways on account of incidents or false alarms from Stopped Car Detection methods,’ he instructed That is Cash.
‘When gas or electrical energy costs are excessive, many drivers do drive beneath the pace restrict to preserve gas or electrical cost.’
Mr King additionally factors out that many European international locations, comparable to France, have already got greater motorway pace limits of 130kmh (81mph).
‘Maybe the IEA suggestion was aimed toward them,’ he provides.
‘Measures to enhance the free move of site visitors on motorways, together with lane self-discipline campaigns and decreasing dwell lane incidents on good motorways, would arguably have a larger impact than reducing pace limits.’
