Greener Transport

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 6 October 2021.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 1:32, 6 October 2021

Thank you for the important question, and clearly we’re in a transition from the internal combustion engine to electric cars, and the UK Government have said that, by the end of the decade, you won’t be able to buy petrol or diesel cars. So, this is a scheme that we’ll need to work closely with the UK Government on, because as to your question on scrappage schemes and tax incentives, that is clearly something that the UK Government needs to be doing. It’s not something that we have the ability to do. But there are a range of things that we can do and, working with local authorities, we’re about to publish our electric vehicle charging action plan in the coming weeks, and that sets out a series of practical things that we are doing.

In terms of the point about the affordability of the vehicles and the availability currently of the infrastructure, clearly, we’re at the first wave of development. They’re expensive because they’re brand-new cars. There is yet not a second-hand car market developed, so, over time, that clearly will change. In terms of the charging infrastructure, Wales has got about 2 per cent of electric vehicles and we’ve got about 3.5 per cent of the public charging infrastructure. So, as that demand curve sharpens, as it is showing increasing signs of doing, we clearly need to increase the charging infrastructure. That’s something that’s going to be led by the private sector. The Government doesn’t provide petrol stations; I don’t expect it to be providing electric charging at scale. What we should be focusing on is looking at where the market is going to be failing, particularly for rural areas, just as we have with broadband, and taking an outside-in approach. So, we absolutely have a role to play, but it’s a role to play with many others.