Switching to electric cars by 2030 could reduce the amount of gasoline needed by 2030 by the same amount as production from newly licensed North Sea oil fields, according to new analysis published by the Energy and Climate Information Unit (ECIU). is likely to reduce overseas imports. Delayed second reading of offshore oil licensing bill.
A small proportion of the output from British oilfields – about a fifth in recent years – is piped back to British refineries to make petrol and other fuels, with the remainder sold overseas.
There are already around 1 million electric cars on UK roads, with an additional 5.3 million expected by early 2030 under the UK government's Zero Emission Vehicle Directive, which requires car manufacturers to increase the proportion of EVs they sell. It is expected that more units will be added.
safety
The analysis shows that these 6.3 million EVs in 2030 will have the same effect as a new oil license in terms of import restrictions for gasoline consumption, and that beyond 2030 the impact of EVs will exceed the impact of new oil licenses. It is considered to start.
And by accelerating the build-up of renewable energy, the majority of the UK's electricity to power these EVs will be generated here.
Dr Simon Clan-McGreehin is Head of Analysis at ECIU, a not-for-profit organization that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK.
He said: „The licensing debate only distracts from more permanent solutions to ensuring the UK's energy independence, which will help build Britain's renewables faster and support homes and EVs. „This means reducing energy waste by powering the roof and insulating the roof.“
independence
“The government's recent track record in some of these policy areas has not been very good. This is an energy security policy that cuts off oil imports from Japan.
“However, as the OBR has pointed out, the number of EVs that would have been on UK roads is likely to fall due to the government's phasing out of new petrol car sales last year, reducing our nation's energy security. will weaken and we will become even more dependent on foreign oil.'' ”
The OBR said in November last year that the government's decision to delay the phased start of new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030 to 2035 could lead to some consumers delaying the switch to EVs. He pointed out that this may delay the sales of new EVs towards 2030. It could have been even higher without the policy change.
If sales indeed reach such high levels, EVs could further increase the UK's energy independence, potentially exceeding the impact of new oil licenses by 2030.
Efficient
The government, which has claimed that legislation mandating a new round of approvals would „strengthen“ Britain's energy security, recently admitted that 80% of oil from new fields such as Rosebank will be traded internationally, and that this „It's not desirable,“ he said. It is assigned to the UK.
British housing is the least efficient in Western Europe. Since 2013, when government support schemes were discontinued, insulation rates have fallen by 90% from their peak in 2012, and in fact fell even further during the gas crisis.
The government failed to win bids for offshore wind power in the 2023 contract-for-difference auction. Changes have been made to the parameters of the scheme for the next auction round in 2024, with the hope that construction of these wind farms will begin immediately after the auction.
ECIU's previous analysis found that the UK's newly approved fuel for the North Sea will account for less than 1 per cent of petrol tanks in 2030.
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Brendan Montague is the editor ecologist. This article is based on a press release from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.