COMMENT: Don’t worry Rishi Sunak, cycling can deliver net zero without electric car dithering

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has recently decided to add uncertainty to the automotive industry by delaying the UK’s ban on petrol and diesel car sales as it aims for net zero.

While vehicle manufacturers, retailers, motor factors and the vast supply chain grapple with this new element of disruption – thrown into that market like a proverbial hand grenade – the cycle industry has some good news for the PM: Cycling can help deliver net zero faster than you can say ‘electric car infrastructure’.

Leaving aside sarcasm, Rishi Sunak’s move has been attributed widely to a sensationally short-term vision of trying to win votes at the impending General Election at the cost of the environment and – essentially – the planet. It has not gone down well with either the automotive industry – a vast employer in the UK (circa 780,000) – or the green lobby. Both the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and Sustrans are among those that have issued withering press statements, collectively shaking their head at the ‘cop-out’ stance and urging no relenting on the UK’s targets to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles. This government has also been roundly criticised for its dwindling investment in active travel, despite the fact that a large proportion of ministerial colleagues and parliamentary staff are active travel fans (though in all fairness this government has seen Active Travel England grow in powers during its tenure).

As Mr Sunak grapples with the morals and politics of sticking to helping ensure the world remains habitable for the offspring of voters, he may be glad to hear that there are less contentious decisions to be made with one form of zero carbon travel – cycling. Worth £36.5 billion to the UK economy, active travel is an area that is a no brainer to get behind. It doesn’t require the government to make a grand announcement like when to ban petrol and diesel car sales. All it has to do is remind His Majesty’s Treasury that investing in cycling pays back many fold, perhaps to support businesses switching to cargo bikes for last mile deliveries and heed the advice of government body Active Travel England that £18 billion would deliver a serious cycling masterplan that would switch half of all journeys in towns and cities to cycling and walking by 2030.

Perhaps the most pertinent point is continuity, and the lack of it. The automotive industry had been working to the UK government’s self-imposed deadline for sales of petrol and diesel car sales to cease, but this commitment wobble breeds uncertainty in the industry. Likewise, continuity on active travel goals rather than shifting goalposts and juggling funding commitments, might see some goals achieved. The bookies are betting on a new Prime Minister at the next General Election and that will be the fifth since David Cameron stood down in 2016. It seems like a vain hope for a cross-party, multi-PM commitment to the environment (or even to something like an industrial strategy), even as the public and business increasingly grasp the need.

But that’s enough from me, here are the words of greater minds at the SMMT and Sustrans on why making a commitment and sticking to it is not just admirable but more like the bare minimum requirement of government when it comes to the environment and industry.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “The automotive industry has and continues to invest billions in new electric vehicles as the decarbonisation of road transport is essential if net zero is to be delivered. Government has played a key part in bringing some of that investment to the UK, and Britain can – and should – be a leader in zero emission mobility both as a manufacturer and market. To make this a reality, however, consumers must want to make the switch, which requires from Government a clear, consistent message, attractive incentives and charging infrastructure that gives confidence rather than anxiety. Confusion and uncertainty will only hold them back.”

Xavier Brice, CEO of walking and cycling charity Sustrans said: “People and businesses need consistency, commitment, and ambition from the Government to effectively tackle climate change, not cowering and confusing U-turns. This is a shocking cop-out and only serves to undermine the great progress already made across the country.

“As countless reports from across the political spectrum evidence, we simply cannot afford to kick the can down the road anymore when it comes tackling our climate emergency. All economies will need to be green economies to thrive or face getting left behind. What is being presented is a false choice. Strong and rapid investment in sustainable transport makes peoples’ journeys cheaper and grows our national and local economies.

“We need courage from our leaders to leave a positive legacy for future generations, and this latest rowing back on commitments is frustrating at best, cynical at worst.”