Financing the Future: Transport

UKSIF's key recommendations to drive private capital into sustainable transport

Transport is the sector with the highest carbon emissions in the UK. In 2021 the Department for Transport (DfT) recorded that the sector produced 26% of the UK’s total emissions, with heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) accounting for nearly 20% of UK transportation emissions.

In this latest research paper from UKSIF, polling of 100 large listed and private UK transport companies also found that the UK transport sector is falling behind other sectors of the UK economy when it comes to reaching its net zero targets. Ambitious steps are needed to drive private investment into the UK’s sustainable transport industry, from building out EV infrastructure to attracting major contracts for gigafactories. The UK policy landscape must rapidly evolve to make the UK a competitive investment destination for green transport.

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Key Recommendations

1. Reinstate the initial 2030 internal combustion engine phase-out date

to ensure the UK maintains its ambitious targets on EVs and transport decarbonisation.

Decarbonising the transport sector requires ambitious targets to ensure a rapid increase in the number of EVs as well as the associated charging infrastructure.

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2. Reform the public-private approach to gigafactory investment

to create the investment environment for the UK to become globally competitive in the battery sector.

The UK Government has moved far too slowly on promoting and incentivising the growth of a domestic battery manufacturing industry, despite a stated ambition for the UK to be a world leader in the battery value chain.

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3. Deliver a UK freight decarbonisation strategy and investment plan

to provide industry with greater certainty in relation to decarbonisation must be done to prioritise freight decarbonisation and provide direction of where, and to what extent, to invest.

For freight transport to play its necessary part in the transport decarbonisation transition, there will need to be major research and investment into both vehicle power chains and associated infrastructure.

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Industry Polling

Results of poll of 100 leaders across the UK's transport industry

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