Scottish Government looking to “phase out the need for petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Scotland will take action to “phase out the need for petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032 and fast-track the development of a Scotland wide charging network”. This would be eight years earlier than the target set by the UK Government. The wording is interesting: a commitment to phase out “the need for petrol and diesel vehicles” is not quite the same as phasing out the vehicles themselves.

The FM announced the 2032 target yesterday (5 September) as part of an official statement outlining the Scottish Government’s programme for the coming year.

Sturgeon said the Scottish Government recognized that there was “a moral obligation to tackle climate change” and “Scotland must lead change, not trail in its wake”.

The FM added: “To encourage others to see Scotland as the place to research, design and manufacture their innovations – for us to become a laboratory for the rest of the world in the digital and low carbon technologies we want to champion – we must also become early adopters of them. We must be bold in our ambitions.”