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UK to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040 – Editor

Electric cars will soon be cheaper than petrol cars, creating turmoil for oil exporting countries A recent article by Joe Romm [1] has drawn attention to the intention of the UK government to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040, in order to reduce pollution and improve public health. A growing list of other countries have similar plans for phasing out cars which burn fossil fuels. And electric cars could be cheaper than petrol powered cars by 2025.

A major driving factor is the plummeting prices for electric batteries. “Electric cars will outsell fossil fuel-powered vehicles within two decades as battery prices plunge”, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) forecasts, “turning the global auto industry upside down and signalling economic turmoil for oil- exporting countries”.

A stunning 73% fall in lithium-ion battery prices since 2010 is expected to be followed by an ongoing downward trend for at least two decades. The world is reaching peak oil demand faster than anyone expected, and the coming oil crash will be only the beginning.

1. Source: ThinkProgress, 27 July 2017 https://thinkprogress.org/uk-to-ban-gas-and-diesel-cars-7cc5e4982939

Dr Joe Romm is Editor of Climate Progress

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