The plan also includes developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.
New petrol and diesel cars will be banned from sale after 2030, the government has announced.
The ban had been planned for 2040 but has been brought forward under Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan to tackle climate change.
The plan also includes producing enough offshore wind to power every home, developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade, and developing the next generation of small and advanced nuclear reactors.
Currently fewer than 1% of cars on UK roads are powered entirely by electricity, so the prime minister’s plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will require an enormous investment in the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles.
Edmund King, president of the Automobile Association, told Sky News only about 6% of local authorities have installed on-street charging facilities in residential areas.
Without a commitment to developing the right infrastructure, the plan was “optimistic”, he said.
“Everyone wants to move to electric vehicles but you can’t just pick a date out of the air. We need better infrastructure particularly for the third of people who can’t charge at home.
“We also need a better supply of cars and they need to be affordable.”
2020 Renault Zoe (Image: Renault)
The prime minister claims that his plan for a green industrial revolution will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs.
The government says it will spend £12bn on the plan but analysts have told Sky News only £4bn of that is new money.
It includes £1.3bn to accelerate the roll-out of charge points for electric vehicles in homes, streets and on motorways across England.
Some £582m will help people afford zero or ultra-low emission vehicles and nearly £500m is to be spent in the next four years on the development and mass production of electric vehicle batteries.
The prime minister said: “Our green industrial revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales, so we can look ahead to a more prosperous, greener future.”
And Business Secretary Alok Sharma told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “This is a package which is part of turbocharging the green industrial revolution, levelling up across our country.
“It is £12bn of public money which will then leverage in three times as much from the private sector and, of course, support and create high-value added jobs – around 250,000 jobs by 2030.
“If you look at the UK, we are a leader when it comes to green growth.
“Since 1990 we have managed to grow our economy by 75% and at the same time cut our emissions by 43%, so we are world-leading in this area.”
Labour said the announcement fell short of what is required, but the independent Committee on Climate Change, which advises the government how to get to net zero, has welcomed the plan.
Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, said the prime minister’s plan was “a bold statement of ambition” but added: “What’s missing is the road map to achieving it.”
Read more: Sky News
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