Accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Why it matters

Road transport accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and its emissions are rising faster than those of any other sector. 

A shift to zero emission vehicles is well underway and accelerating, creating new e-mobility jobs, driving down technology costs, cleaning the air we breathe and reducing our reliance on often imported oil.

To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, this transition needs to happen much more quickly.  It must include not only cars, but vans, buses, trucks, lorries, and two and three wheelers.

What we are doing

We are working to accelerate the pace of the global transition to zero emission vehicles in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to strengthen international collaboration to accelerate progress. 

We have created the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council for this purpose. The Council was formed as a political, strategic forum through which ministers and representatives of the biggest and most progressive automotive markets – collectively accounting for more than half of all new car sales globally – meet to discuss how to accelerate the pace of the global transition to zero emission vehicles. 

At the COP26 Summit, the ZEV Transition Council (ZEVTC) launched their 2022 Action Plan, setting out specific areas for cooperation – this includes accelerating the transition to zero emission heavy duty vehicles, charging infrastructure, GHG emissions regulations, and supporting an accelerated global transition to ZEVs. Under the global transition work-stream, the UK and other ZEVTC governments continue to work with partners – including other donor countries, international organisations, and Multilateral Development Banks – to develop a more coordinated and strengthened support offer for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies.

We are supporting greater ambition through the ZEV Declaration. This collective of governments, manufacturers, businesses and other stakeholders is showing leadership by eliminating sales of polluting cars and vans by no later than 2035 in leading markets, and by 2040 globally. At COP27, the Accelerating to Zero Coalition will launch. Transitioning the ZEV Declaration into a standalone initiative, the A2Z Coalition is a global partnership with the UNFCCC High Level Champions (HLAC), The Climate Group, Drive Electric Campaign (DEC), ICCT, C40 and other leading organisations designed to coordinate activities, amplify messages and secure more commitments. By drawing on the International Community of Best Practice, the partnership invites more governments (national, sub-national and city), businesses, investors and other organisations committed to phasing out sales of polluting new cars and vans to join the coalition. 

How you can help

All actors have a role to play in the transition to ZEVs and we encourage all actors to sign the ZEV Declaration ahead of COP27. 

• Countries and states: commit to ensuring all new car and van sales are zero emission vehicles by 2035 (advanced markets) or 2040 (all other markets); put in place policies to accelerate uptake of zero emission cars, vans, buses and trucks.   
• Vehicle manufacturers: commit to selling only zero emission vehicles by 2035 or earlier.  
• Fleet-owning businesses: commit to achieving a fully zero emission fleet by 2030 or earlier; join the EV100 initiative.  
• Civil society: build support for all of the above measures. 

Further information

• Joint Statement from countries in the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council (ZEVTC), after its first meeting
• Speech by the COP President Designate at the second meeting of the ZEVTC
• Article and expert analysis from the International Council on Clean Transportation, which is supporting the ZEVTC
• The Climate Group’s RouteZero Campaign, EV100 initiative and Zero Emission Vehicle Community
• Analysis presented to the Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council on The role of Zero Emissions Vehicles in global road transport pathways meeting the Paris Agreement from the UK Climate Change Committee
• Analysis presented to the Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council on Decarbonizing road transport by 2050: Zero-emission pathways for passenger vehicles from the International Council on Clean Transportation
• BloombergNEF dashboard showing the speed of progress towards ZEVs globally, and in ZEV Transition Council countries.