PG Carz World

The transition to electric vehicles should be moving apace, but it is not. And why? Incompetence, expedience and cowardice This is how it works. An industry puts tremendous effort into resisting change: lobbying governments, mobilising the media, pouring money into junktanks . It argues that a transition would threaten jobs, or damage the national interest, or harm poor people, while what it really fears is the cost of retooling its plants or developing new protocols. Then, when the inevitable cliff edge approaches, it whines that change is coming too soon. For reasons beyond its control, it isn’t ready, so the government must delay its plans. This is what triggered the Dutch nitrate crisis , and the UK’s repeated “emergency” exemptions from the ban on a devastating class of pesticides. Now the same dynamic is driving the UK’s crisis over the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The result is that, as the global climate summit, Cop31 , begins, it looks as if our gift to the world wi...

Changing route | Motorway issues | Making lasagne | Figs aplenty | Wootton Courtenay | Taff’s Well Adrian Chiles ( The worst two words in the dead of night? ‘Motorway closed’, 4 November ) may be interested in roads.org.uk – a niche website, but interesting. Chris Marshall, who runs it, recently posted a fascinating article on the complexities involved in planning diversion routes . Highly recommended, and much more gripping than Celebrity Traitors! Maria Gray Sandhurst, Berkshire • Advice to Adrian Chiles regarding his motorway issue. First, ignore satnav. Second, never go on a motorway which is threatened with closure. Third, use a good road atlas. I recommend a Philip’s Navigator. Then enjoy the countryside. Happy motoring! Stuart Garside New Mills, Derbyshire Continue reading...

Former US secretary of state says most nations are ‘stumbling along’ while Beijing has ‘hugely accelerated’ Cop31 live – latest updates China is leading the world in moving away from fossil fuels , and the rest of the globe – including the US – must now follow, the former US secretary of state John Kerry has told the Guardian, as Cop watchers wonder exactly how China is going to approach this year’s climate summit. As Cop31 opens – this year the climate conference is in Turkey – there is plenty of speculation about whether China will finally step into the leadership role that it has long avoided. In its latest “five-year plan” adopted in March 2026, China for the first time pledged to “actively participate in and lead global climate governance”. Cop31 could provide the first indications Beijing is ready to put that rhetoric into action, something it has historically been reluctant to do. Continue reading...

Louise Haigh is expected to agree to cut a target for EV sales by about a quarter Good morning. Monday is often the busiest day of the week at Westminster but, with the Commons still enjoying a mini November recess, today is looking a bit quiet. Andy Burnham is on a visit to a hospital this morning and he wants to talk about a £40m programme in England to try to keep vulnerable patients out of hospital. The Department of Health and Social Care has the details here , and Andrew Gregory explains it all here. But Burnham may find he ends up taking more questions from the media on another Guardian story, Kiran Stacey ’s scoop about the government being on course to water down electric vehicle (EV) targets. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he’s committed to meeting climate targets, but some believe his actions suggest otherwise Labour expected to cut EV targets for car industry despite MPs’ climate concerns Andy Burnham insists he is committed to the green transition, but his MPs worry that in decision after decision, he is showing that other priorities come first. “Our changing climate is a major concern for many Britons, not least because we have just emerged from our hottest summer on record ,” the prime minister wrote in the Guardian in September. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Louise Haigh likely to weaken mandate for sales that forms key part of emission reduction plan Ministers are expected to make steep cuts to the government’s electric vehicle (EV) targets this week, in a move that will relieve carmakers but alarm many Labour MPs who are worried about the government’s commitment to the green agenda. Louise Haigh, the de facto deputy prime minister, will finalise the plan after a crunch meeting in Downing Street on Wednesday to settle a long-running dispute between the transport, energy and business departments. Continue reading...