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Thursday, October 29, 2020 12

NEWBURYNEWS

Newbury Weekly News

‘We must do more to improve air quality’ By LAURAF ARRIS NEWBURY MP already pioneered the implementation of charging

BERKSHIRE BUILDINGS OAK

of UK leadership in the year of our COP presidency and hasten the reduction in air pollution that the majority of the public want to see. Steps like requiring residential car parks to install charge points could help persuade drivers, who do not have access to charging points in their homes, to make the leap. This could be done by greater regulation or extending existing grant schemes to encourage the installation. I also support the construction of an electric vehicle battery factory (Gigafactory) which the Government could fund using some of its £1bn fund for the EV supply chain. According to the Faraday Institute: “Within a year, most car producers and battery manufacturers will make their decisions about where in Europe the next generation of gigafactories will be based.” We must not lose out on this. Many people in West Berkshire care passionately about the environment, but without urgent action to address petrol and diesel vehicles our task of achieving net zero by 2050 (let alone 2030) will be extremely challenging. I readily concede that there are untapped opportunities to improve cycle routes across the area, and the rollout of hydrogen buses will make significant environmental improvements. But the fact remains, that cars are our preferred mode of transport and until we can make electric vehicles cheap, convenient and accessible in a meaningful way, the problem will remain.

points and continues to blaze a trail locally, but barriers remain. Residents have raised issues about accessibility of charging points in other parts of the country (making them nervous about the practical realities of longer journeys) and the high costs of electric vehicles. The Committee on Climate Change has said recently that a full switchover to electric vehicles will require 3,500 ultra- rapid chargers near motorways to enable long journeys, and a further 210,000 public chargers in town and cities. There is an urgent need to accelerate the infrastructure to meet the environmental need. That the Government understands this is reflected in a swathe of its most recent policies. For example, homeowners are offered grants of up to 75 per cent off installing electric vehicle charge points for homes under the EV Homecharge Scheme. The Infrastructure Investment Fund has seen an initial investment of £200m from the Government matched by the same amount from private funds to pay for 3,000 more ultra-rapid charging points by 2024. However, accelerating the phase- out date for petrol and diesel cars from 2035 to 2032 (or earlier) would be a strong demonstration

“POOR air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK. It is known to have more severe effects on vulnerable groups, for example the elderly, children and people already suffering from pre-existing health conditions” – wrote the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in its 2017 Air Quality Report. Air pollution is linked to between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths per year and in some parts of the UK is estimated to reduce life expectancy by up to 1.5 years. Our problems in West Berkshire may be less acute than in big cities, but the A34 and M4, which cut through the heart of this area, are significant contributors to poor air quality and emissions overall. Nationally the transport sector has only managed to reduce emissions by five per cent since 1990, lagging significantly behind almost every other part of the economy. Earlier this year the Government announced that the phase-out of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans will be brought forward from 2040 to 2035. This is welcome, but I would like us to go further. Electric vehicles are the fastest growing sector of the UK market with sales next year estimated to be 200,000, up from just 2,300 per year in 2012. West Berkshire Council has

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