The UK arm of NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) has announced new data analysis revealing carbon emissions from vans have risen 63% since 1990 in the UK, despite an increase in electric-powered vans.
The same analysis revealed that carbon emissions from private cars and taxis have decreased by 19% over the same period.
The research from T&E found the total number of vans on UK’s roads have increased by more than one million since 2014.
Meanwhile, battery-electric vans in the UK have increased more than sevenfold between 2018 and 2023.
However, according to T&E, UK uptake falls behind other Western European countries, including France, Germany and The Netherlands.
In January 2024, the UK implemented the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires one in 10 van sales to be zero-emission in 2024, rising to 70% in 2030.
Ralph Palmer, electric vehicle and fleets officer at T&E, said: “The continued rise in van emissions in the UK is alarming.
“Despite the push for more electric vans on our roads, we are still witnessing a surge in greenhouse gas emissions from vans as a result of sustained sales of diesel vans, countering trends we are seeing in the car market.
“The ZEV mandate introduced this year is an important step to increasing the supply of electric vans to the UK, but it’s clear that more action is needed to boost electric van demand among fleets to ensure we achieve the triple-win of tackling emissions, reducing running costs for small businesses, and boosting energy security.”
READ MORE: Growing north-south divide in England’s EV public charging infrastructure
This data comes as a recent survey of 4,000 UK adults, conducted by campaigner Clean Cities, revealed that 49% of Britons believe the cost of preventing climate change and air pollution should be met by businesses and not individual citizens.
More than half (51%) of Brits also support implementing ‘unpopular’ measures for businesses, such as an additional charge on every Amazon delivery, to fund clean air initiatives.
Achievements and innovations in sustainable urban transport will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
