6 2GM Monday July 27 2020 | the times
News
Diesel buses will be scrapped within 15
years to cut toxic emissions under plans
drawn up by one of the country’s big-
gest transport operators.
First Group will introduce a fully
zero-emission fleet across the UK by
2035 to help improve air quality and re-
duce greenhouse gas emissions.
The company’s fleet, which is 5,000-
strong, will be expected to run on bat-
tery power or hydrogen in the biggest
wholesale shift to clean transport yet
seen in Britain’s bus industry.
It will hasten the move away from
diesel after similar commitments from
other big bus operators including Go-
Ahead and National Express.
There are growing concerns about
air quality in cities, with emissions from
road vehicles leading to a rise in levels
of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particu-
late matter. Long-term exposure can
cause breathing difficulties and prema-
ture death.
The government has set a target to
eliminate the sale of new petrol and die-
sel cars and vans by at least 2035, al-
projects worth more than £700 million,
and at least £800 million this year. It is
understood to have several billion
pounds worth of similar projects in the
pipeline and has expanded its portfolio
as other commercial lenders have be-
come leery of the reputational risks.
Another source said the review or-
dered by Mr Johnson would conclude
that UKEF should phase out its invest-
ment in the sector and refocus its activi-
ties on promoting green energy.
“It is a fundamental question about
how you support UK exporters but in a
clean and a green way,” they said. “If
you look at companies like BP they are
moving away from oil so it is a question
of how UKEF can support that kind of
agenda.”
The Times understands that the
Mozambique deal drew criticism from
ministers including the business secre-
tary, Alok Sharma, and the foreign sec-
retary, Dominic Raab, amid concerns
that UKEF has been operating outside
proper ministerial oversight.
One government figure said Mr
Johnson was particularly concerned
about criticism surfacing when Britain
chaired the UN climate change confer-
ence (COP26) in November 2021.
Matthew Pennycook, the shadow cli-
mate change minister, said: “The gov-
ernment has to get its own house in or-
der if the UK is to demonstrate to the
world the kind of leadership necessary
to secure a successful COP26 climate
change summit in Glasgow next year.”Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent
Diesel buses to reach end
of the road within 15 years
though the measures do not extend to
heavy vehicles. There are also concerns
over greenhouse gas emissions, with
lorries, coaches and buses believed to
be responsible for about a quarter of
total road transport carbon dioxide
emissions across Europe.
The government has invested
£220 million to overhaul bus services in
England, including paying to create the
first “all electric” bus town, where the
entire fleet will shift to zero-emission
technology.
However, industry bosses say that
measures so far have been unambi-
tious, failing to fully realise the benefits
of shifting people from cars to buses.
One full double decker bus could re-
move 75 cars from the road.
John Dowie, First Bus director of
strategy, told The Times: “Over the last
few years we have been a little bit frus-
trated that we could see really clear op-
portunities to switch buses to zero
emission but all the focus had been on
the car. Government has helped the bus
sector but it has been on a very small
scale.”
First Group is the second busiest bus
operator after Stagecoach. It serves
towns and cities including Aberdeen,
Glasgow, Edinburgh, York, Sheffield,
Leeds, Manchester, Swansea, Ports-
mouth, Southampton and Ipswich.
The company will have 64 zero-emission vehicles by the end of this
year. They include 49 electric models in
cities such as York and Leeds and 15
hydrogen buses in Aberdeen. It also has
dozens of low-emission buses running
on bio-gas in cities including Bristol
and more than 1,000 diesel buses are
being retrofitted with a tailpipe emis-
sions system that cuts NOx emissions
by 99 per cent.
It has now announced that it will go
further by moving to a 100 per cent
electric or hydrogen fleet by 2035. This
will mean that no new diesel buses are
purchased after 2022. Hydrogen buses
cost about £500,000 while battery-
powered ones cost about £400,000, al-
though it is envisaged that the price will
come down as the technology becomes
more popular.
Go Ahead also has a 2035 target and
National Express has set a target to
switch to zero-emission by 2030.
Wrightbus, a manufacturer based in
Northern Ireland, is planning to scale
up production of hydrogen buses in the
coming year. They can be a more prac-
tical option in some areas because elec-
tric buses cannot operate on almost a
third of the longest routes as the batter-
ies are not powerful enough. The buses
produce no exhaust emissions and run
on hydrogen gas, with a fuel cell system
that turns the gas into electrical power.
The only emission is water.PM cleans up reputation by
defunding foreign oil projects
Oliver Wright Policy EditorBoris Johnson is to end Britain’s support
for “dirty” global oil and gas projects for
fear of tarnishing the country’s reputa-
tion on climate change.
The prime minister has ordered a re-
view of the use of government export
finance guarantees that have helped to
fund billions of pounds worth of fossil
fuel projects around the world.
It follows controversy over the gov-
ernment’s decision this week to give
£900 million in loans and guarantees to
a gas pipeline project in Mozambique
that environmental groups estimate
will contribute to a near fiftyfold in-
crease in its emissions in the region.
Government sources claimed that
Mr Johnson had been “bounced” into
approving the scheme by the Whitehall
agency in charge of the project UK
Export Finance (UKEF).
They said the scheme had been too
advanced to cancel when Mr Johnson
was made aware of it but had made his
displeasure clear about the investment.
“The PM was pretty furious and im-
mediately asked for a review of UKEF’s
policy on fossil fuel,” the source said.
UKEF is able to underwrite loans for
any project around the world as long as
a proportion of the work or compo-
nents are made by British companies.
It has attracted controversy by fund-
ing projects that are at odds with the
government’s climate change agenda.
Last year UKEF supported fossil fuelclean air
for all
Call to boost
funding for
social homes
The government must ensure at least
90,000 new social homes are built a
year to meet its ambitious housing tar-
gets, a group of MPs has said.
Increasing funding for local author-
ities and housing providers would help
the government to meet its target of
300,000 new homes a year, a report by
the housing, communities and local
government select committee said.
Clive Betts, Labour chairman of the
committee, said that other reforms
were needed, such as more affordable
land and using all the receipts from
Right to Buy to build social housing. He
said: “The collapse of social housing
building since the 1980s has had terrible
consequences on our ability to provide
adequate housing for those who need it.
“The last decade has seen a surge in
families living in temporary accommo-
dation and people rough sleeping,
while at the same time we have come to
rely on the private rental sector to shore
up the creaking social housing capacity.
“We need at least 90,000 new homes
a year to get to the level of social hous-
ing we need, but this is achievable.
“This must be a long-term commit-
ment to creating a social housing
system that meets long-term demand.”
The report says that 83,700 house-
holds are in temporary accommoda-
tion, an increase of 82 per cent since
2010, and the number of people rough
sleeping has risen by 165 per cent in the
same period. Since 1981, more than a
million homes have been lost from
social housing and only 6,827 new
homes were added to the stock last year.
The committee warned that the eco-
nomic and social consequences of the
pandemic were likely to place a greater
burden on a social housing system that
was already under strain.
Libby Purves, page 29Shoppers
protected if
retailers fail
Andrew Ellson
Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Shoppers who pay for goods in advance
will be protected if retailers go bust, the
government will announce today.
Ministers will commit to changing
the law to better protect consumers in
the event of insolvencies.
Under existing rules, which date back
to the Victorian era, if a company
becomes insolvent, goods paid for in
advance that are still in its possession
may be considered as assets belonging
to the business. These goods can be
held by the administrators and used to
pay off the company’s debts, potentially
leaving consumers out of pocket.
Guidelines enshrined in the Con-
sumer Rights Act will instead set out
ways of identifying the consumer as the
legal owner once an item has been paid
for, such as goods that have been la-
belled, put aside or altered for the buyer.
The proposals will support online
shoppers as goods are not immediately
handed over at the point of sale.
However, the new law will not benefit
consumers if the item they have pur-
chased has not yet been manufactured.
The changes are being made after the
Citizens Advice charity showed that
shoppers were unfairly losing out,
sometimes by thousands of pounds
after paying for goods.
Paul Scully, the consumer affairs
minister, said: “With more and more
people pre-paying for goods online, it is
so important our laws are up to date to
reduce the risk of customers losing out
if a business unfortunately becomes
insolvent.” The government said that
the Law Commission had agreed to
produce and consult on draft legis-
lation to amend the act.
Leading article, page 31
Messing about on the river Rowing boats for hire were a popular attraction by the Knaresborough Viaduct over the Nidd
in North Yorkshire yesterday as people took advantage of the warm and dry weather. The viaduct was completed in 1851DANNY LAWSON/PA