Consultation outcome

CO2 emissions regulatory framework for all newly sold road vehicles in the UK

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Outcome and government response to the green paper on a New Road Vehicle CO2 Emissions Regulatory Framework for the UK

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email webmasterdft@dft.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Detail of outcome

The main outcomes of this consultation are that:

  • the UK will adopt a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, requiring a percentage of manufacturers’ new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024
  • we will continue to regulate the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the non-ZEV portion of the fleet to make sure they do not increase
  • a ZEV mandate with a CO2 regulation for non-ZEVs could, over time, be applied to other road vehicles
  • we need to further consult on ZEV mandate target trajectories to determine a definition for ‘significant zero emission capability’, as the 2 provisions are intrinsically linked

A technical consultation on policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate has been published to engage further on the design of the future regulatory regime.


Original consultation

Summary

This green paper proposes options for a carbon dioxide (CO2) regulatory framework for all new road vehicles in the UK.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

We are seeking views on the proposed regulatory framework for the UK with regard to all newly sold road vehicles.

We propose:

or

  • making a UK zero emission vehicle mandate as well as CO2 regulations

The document subsequently discusses the wider regulatory framework including:

  • the vehicle models that should be in scope
  • whether derogations and exemptions should apply in certain cases
  • the level of fines that should be issued for non-compliance
  • defining the ‘significant zero emission capability’ that all new hybrid cars and vans will be required to deliver from 2030 to 2035

This green paper was committed to in the Prime Minister’s Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution in November 2020 and featured in the Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain.

Documents

Green paper on a new road vehicle CO2 emissions regulatory framework for the United Kingdom (web version)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email webmasterdft@dft.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Green paper on a new road vehicle CO2 emissions regulatory framework for the United Kingdom (print version)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email webmasterdft@dft.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Updates to this page

Published 14 July 2021
Last updated 7 April 2022 + show all updates
  1. Government response published.

  2. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page