The UK government has confirmed that its light duty fleet will go zero-emission by 2027 – one of a raft of EV commitments made by international governments.

The UK government is one of a number of signatories on the Climate Group’s newly launched ZEV Pledge initiative for public fleets

The UK announcement was first made in this summer’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan and has now been affirmed by the Department for Transport, which has signed up to the Climate Group’s newly launched ZEV Pledge initiative for public fleets.

The UK pledge means that 100% of the Government’s car and van fleet will be zero-emission by 2027; three years earlier than planned.

UK Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “At the recent COP26 summit, the UK made a number of ambitious pledges to decarbonise transport and it’s only right that we in government lead the way with our own fleet. We pledged a commitment in July to convert the Government’s car and van fleet to zero emission at the tailpipe by 2027, and I look forward to joining the rest of the country, and our counterparts across the globe, in the switch to electric vehicles as we accelerate towards a greener future.”

In total, nine national, regional, state and city-level governments have signed up to the new Climate Group ZEV Pledge, collectively representing 121,355 vehicles on the road, with nearly a third of these being medium- or heavy-duty vehicles.

Other signatories include the Scottish government, which has committed to a 100% zero-emission light duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035 and 100% zero-emission heavy duty vehicles by 2040.

The city of New York has said it will run 100% zero-emission medium and heavy duty vehicles by 2040.

And California has pledged to have 100% zero-emission buses by 2030; 100% zero-emission light duty vehiclesby 2035, and 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy duty vehicles by 2040.

The Climate Group’s launch of the ZEV Pledge for public fleets follows the growth of its EV100 corporate leadership initiative and particularly targets fleet vehicles, which globally make up a quarter (24%) of vehicles on the road, yet contribute to more than half (56%) of road transport emissions. Research has found that faster electrification of fleets could deliver “transformational” benefits for our climate, health and infrastructure.

Sandra Roling, head of transport, Climate Group, said: “It’s essential we continue to build on the momentum for clean road transport following COP26, so I welcome the leadership we’re seeing today from governments who are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to their own vehicles. More than half a billion vehicles on the road are owned or operated by governments, public sector organisations and businesses. There is huge potential to use this collective purchasing power to drive the auto market towards a cleaner future.

“While supportive policy is important for enabling a faster shift to zero emission vehicles, governments at all levels also have a responsibility to lead by example by decarbonising their fleets. We hope to see many more governments join the ZEV Pledge in the coming months.”