Today at COP27 on Solutions Day, the UK COP26 Presidency will convene Ministers and senior representatives to accelerate the transition to Zero Emission Vehicles by:
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Launching the new Accelerating To Zero Coalition - a platform for leading initiatives to work together to deliver a Paris-aligned Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) transition globally.
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Announcing a total of 214 ZEV Declaration signatories, committing them to a global all-ZEV sales target by 2040, and 2035 in leading markets, including new signatories France and Spain.
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Launching a support package for emerging markets and developing economy (EMDE) countries, backed through a Global Commitment by donor countries including the UK, US, Germany and Japan.
At COP26 the UK and partners launched a "Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration" to accelerate the transition to all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2035 at the latest in leading markets, and 2040 globally, in line with Paris Agreement climate goals. The Declaration now has over 210 signatories (up from 130 at COP26) - from national and sub-national governments, to manufacturers, businesses and fleet owners. New signatories include France, Spain, Abou Ghaly Motors, and Vikram Solar.
The impact of the ZEV Declaration is already being realised. BloombergNEF's newly published ZEV Factbook shows that 2022 is set to be a record year for ZEV sales, with electric vehicles comprising 13.2% of all new vehicles sold in the first half of 2022. This will speed up the move away from fossil fuels, with the expected adoption of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles avoiding almost 1.7 million barrels of oil use per day in 2022, about 3.8% of total demand.
As a further sign of momentum for the growing ZEV transition, today the Accelerating to Zero Coalition (A2Z) will be launched, which will host the ZEV declaration from COP27 onwards. The A2Z Coalition is a partnership between the UK, the UN High Level Action Champions team, the Climate Group, the International Council on Clean Transportation and the Drive Electric Campaign, who will work together to promote a faster global ZEV transition and help signatories implement those commitments by providing bespoke workshops, assistance and access to a international community of best practice.
Alok Sharma, COP26 President, said:
"The ZEV declaration signed at COP26 was a major milestone bringing together leading actors to accelerate the transition to 100 percent new car sales being zero emission by 2040, and 2035 in leading markets."
"There are still huge opportunities in emerging markets and developing economies which is why I'm pleased to formally launch the Accelerating To Zero Coalition today. This coalition provides the platform for countries to go further and faster and to ensure that no country is left behind."
Together with partner countries and organisations, the UK COP26 Presidency will today launch a new support package for EMDE countries - part of international efforts to ensure a truly global transition to ZEVs. This support package includes:
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A Global Commitment - signed by the US, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden and the UK - outlining collective ambition to mobilise more assistance and align existing funds to support ZEV transitions in EMDE countries this decade.
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A ZEV Country Partnership with India - signed with the UK and US - to provide tailored and impactful support that helps India deliver their ambitious ZEV commitments.
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A scalable ZEV Rapid Response Facility (ZEV-RRF) to address the short-term, urgent technical assistance needs of EMDE governments, helping unlock larger scale projects and funding for their ZEV transitions.
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A US-led ZEV Emerging Markets Initiative - in partnership with the UK Government and World Business Council for Sustainable Development - to foster dialogues between EMDE governments and major international companies to help scale up investment for countries' transitions.
The first tranche of the World Bank's Global Facility to Decarbonise Transport projects will also launch at COP27, facilitated by UK funding announced at COP26. This includes projects to support electrification of transport in countries, such as India and Ghana, as well as wider regions through its new Regional Financing Facility to Decarbonise Transport in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Also on Solutions Day, the UK-USA-co-chaired Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council (ZEVTC) will launch its new yearly Action Plan, setting out its priorities for 2023. This includes infrastructure, the role of fleets in the ZEV transition, fair consumer access and supporting a more equitable transition as priority areas of discussion and collaboration between members in the coming year.
