Decarbonising Urban Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities for City Region Public Authorities

Decarbonising transport will therefore be vital if the UK’s national target of net zero emissions by 2050 is to be met, as well as city region’s own net zero ambitions, of which target dates range from 2030 to 2048.

The report sets out the challenges city regions face in decarbonising urban vehicles, which includes private vehicles as well as public sector fleets, and also the opportunities to overcome barriers and make real progress.

The report also sets out a roadmap detailing how the journey to net zero by 2050 is achieved through each of the six themes.

The report concludes by saying, ‘The Government has made decarbonising vehicle fleets a policy priority and made significant funding available for this task. However, the report finds that there is a need for greater cohesion of national policy with less fragmentation between both the approach taken to different transport modes (cars, buses, taxis, new mobility and so on) as well as with the provision of supporting green energy infrastructure. If all urban vehicles are to be decarbonised as rapidly and efficiently as possible then there is also a need for government to involve the city regions more closely in the formulation and implementation of policy.’

The findings of the report drew on interviews with officers from Urban Transport Group’s member transport authorities, workshops conducted by Connected Places Catapult and an online survey with key external stakeholders.