The Transport + Energy Forum has opened with a keynote speech from former business secretary and chair of WMG, Greg Clark.
Introducing Clark, EVUK’s Tanya Sinclair said he was the person “building the foundations of the industry that we know today”, with his work on the net-zero and sustainability agenda as the Secretary of State.
Clark said:
“It was a time when the UK was adopting an industrial strategy that was designed to look forward and build on our strengths, and what we needed to do to capitalise on them.
“We intended it to be a long-term endeavour, a short-term strategy is a contradiction in terms. But the policy strategy hasn’t lived up to its expectations, but the current government has created an industrial strategy, and that is a positive development.
“It is also broad-minded and significant, and questions of policy should be the subject of consensus, longevity and confidence rather than day to day politics.
“The first two years of the government haven’t achieved the kind of progress that was hoped for, but the reassertion of the industrial strategy, in the 10 year plan.
“And if this sees a return to a long-term plan that should be welcomed.
“This is a crucial time, and this year’s Forum is particularly important, and it is about convergence. This is one of the big questions across industrial policy.
“The most interesting advances in technology are at the boundary of sectors, and see transport not just as relevant for decarbonisation, but for the economy and skills for the future.”
Clark added that the UK starts from a strong base, but “one of the disadvantages that the UK has suffered from has been the unpredictability of policy”.
He added: “It is important time for this Forum, with a government that has declared an intention for the long term, and to really declare a policy stability.
“For the ZEV Mandate, it needs to stick, but not be changed again in future years.
“But it is also planning, the availability of skills in the future workforce, these are part of the answer.”
Opening the event earlier, Alec Peachey, Founder and Editorial Director at Transport + Energy, said:
“Figures from the last few months show the incredible progress of EVs with the promised land of battery-electric cars overtaking ICE vehicles within the next few years. So, progress has been steep, but we still have a long way to go to the 2030 goals, and pressures remain.
“That is why events like the Forum are as vital as ever, as the transport and energy sectors accelerate towards net-zero and the decarbonisation of the industry.
“Challenges include the constant reform of the ZEV Mandate by the UK Government, the challenge of the EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ rules, the pressure on energy prices impacting decarbonisation, the on-going cost of living crisis, as well as the wide range of political and global pressures that are impacting the UK.
“But there are many, many opportunities as well. A smarter, more flexible grid, with renewable energy sources, the maturity of CPOs and the charging network as charging hubs grow and grow across the strategic road network, innovations in home charging and on-street, and forthcoming technologies such as V2G and V2X, to name a few.
“Together, through deeper collaboration and new ways of working and innovation, the pathway is visible.
“The light at the end of the net-zero tunnel for electric vehicles is now shining brightly. All we have to do is drive towards it.”
