Written by by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media

In the race to achieve net zero status, the largest economies are putting their best foot forward by incorporating a slew of measures that can bring a comprehensive change, through which the transformation to clean energy solutions can be done in a seamless manner.

The abrupt hardships of climate change have reached a critical phase as nations surrounded by snowy islands and huge glaciers are fearing the possible event of massive floods, while the plains and other geographical regions already experiencing a record-breaking rise in the annual temperatures during the peak summers are severely anxious over a fractional upsurge in the temperatures as it is increasingly developing the areas into hard-to-survive locations due to extreme habitual conditions.

Taking a couple of measures at a time is actually required now as it will only help in achieving the objective within the anticipated time, as the potential repercussions of climate change are mushrooming at a rapid pace, as we speak and discuss various strategies to contain the consequences.

Further ameliorating the road to net zero, the government of the UK has recently reiterated its commitment to eliminate the fossil fuel-powered commercial vehicles, including the heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) by the end of 2040. With this objective, the Downing Street administration is aiming to roll-out zero emission commercial vehicles at a large scale in the next two decades, enough to meet the cumulative supply chain and logistics demand in the domestic, as well as connected roads to cross-border regions.

In order to effectuate the predefined goal of selling 100% zero emission new cars and vans, the government has instituted a group of ministers and industry leaders that will remain responsible for working towards fulfilling the target by 2040. Bolstering the initiative, six major automakers including General Motors, Mercedes, Ford, BYD, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover, 13 investors, 28 fleets and 34 countries have collectively pledged for all new car and van sales to be zero emission by 2035 in the leading markets and by 2040 on a global level.

Countries including New Zealand and El Salvador and corporations such as Sainsbury’s are among the group that have committed to integrate 100% zero emission vehicles following the proposals made by the European Union, a number of states under the control of the US, Canada and Chile. All these have committed to ensure that all the new cars and vans are emission free by 2035.

A number of emerging markets and developing economies including India, Turkey, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Paraguay have pledged to expedite the adoption and country-wide usage of zero emission vehicles, the move that can help achieve the global target of carbon emissions.

Alongside this, a new design for electric vehicle chargepoints is underway with the UK government set to unveil it as Britain charges up the green energy revolution by scaling up the power generation through renewable resources of energy and extensively working out to augment the potential of present EVs.

The new design concept for the EV chargepoints can certainly help in raising the awareness, generating the excitement around the EVs, increasing the adoption of EVs amidst the middle-income earners as a large section of people look forward to changing the primary vehicle with some of them exploring options to buy their first vehicle.

Not only this, the concept for EV chargepoints will provide a greater choice for local governments and industries as the primary objective is to ensure that everyone benefits from the transition to zero emission transport.

As countries and corporations build one of the most reliable, affordable and convenient charging networks for EVs in the world, the major area of focus will remain on diminishing the pain points in buying and owning an EV over the traditional vehicles fuelled by petrol and diesel.

At the moment, the zero emission vehicles are already affordable to run in the UK as compared to the petrol and diesel variants of similar configuration. In the upcoming years, with the scheduled technological advancements in the rechargeable battery segment, and other significant parts, the zero emission vehicles will become cheaper to buy.

As many as 30 countries have agreed to work collectively to make zero emission vehicles a new normal by making them sustainable, accessible and affordable in all regions by the end of 2030 or earlier.

The Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council (ZEVTC) is set to unveil its first annual action plan, while it discusses how international collaboration can strengthen global transition towards green technologies with the experts and representatives on transition in emerging markets and developing economies.

The first annual action plan by the ZEVTC will set out the areas for sustained international cooperation that will help in expediting the transition during 2022. With the cumulative support of various countries and companies responsible for developing advanced mechanisms in the green technology space, the United Kingdom is set to become the first country in the world to phase out new, non-zero emission HGVs weighing more than 26 tonnes by the end of 2035.

Making sure that each and every commercial vehicle, including the HGVs sold in Britain are zero emission by 2040, materially places the country ahead of many tech-intensive nations which are yet to roll-out EVs on a large scale. Decarbonising the overall carbon footprint certainly requires a number of actionable and measurable steps that can develop a sense of responsibility among the citizens, as consumer preference remains one of the most important factors in bringing such a transformational change.

Over the years, the number of people adopting EVs have grown significantly with the purchases of hybrid electric vehicles gaining pace in emerging markets as battery electric vehicles are quite expensive to purchase and run as compared to the vehicles of similar configuration running on petrol and diesel engines.

According to a research conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the proportional sale of zero emission vehicles is set to escalate to 70% of the new car sales by the year 2040.