Joint statement of the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council

For the first time, Ministers and representatives from some of the world’s largest and

most progressive car markets have come together to form a new Zero Emission

Vehicle Transition Council.

Hosted by the COP26 President, Alok Sharma, the Council met to discuss how to

accelerate the pace of the global transition to zero emission vehicles.

These Ministers and representatives have agreed to collectively address some of the

key challenges in the transition to ZEVs, enabling the transition to be faster, cheaper,

and easier for all.  

The Council was made up of Ministers and representatives from California, Canada,

Denmark, European Commission, France, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands,

Norway, Spain, South Korea and Sweden, the United Kingdom.

The following joint statement was released after the Council meeting.

A rapid global transition to zero emission vehicles is vital to meet the goals of the

Paris Agreement on climate change. Road transport accounts for over 10% of global

greenhouse gas emissions, and these emissions are rising. We need to dramatically

increase the pace of the global transition to meet our Paris Agreement goals. This

will also offer huge opportunities for jobs and growth, cleaner air, improved public

health, and could also boost energy security and help balance electricity grids as we

make the transition to clean power.

In response to this global challenge and historic opportunity, we met today as the

Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council to discuss how to increase the pace of

the transition. As ministers and representatives from governments whose markets

collectively account for around half of all new vehicle sales globally, we have a

unique responsibility. The actions we take, in dialogue with industry, and also with

businesses, cities and regions, and wider civil society, will determine the pace of the

global transitions to zero emission vehicles. While our national contexts and policy

approaches may differ, the transition will be faster, easier and lower cost for all if we

work together.

We will use this forum to coordinate our efforts. We will act together to overcome

strategic, political and technical barriers, accelerate the production of zero emission

vehicles, and increase economies of scale. We will boost investment, bring down

costs and increase the uptake of zero emission vehicles and the many economic,

social and environmental benefits it brings.

We will explore specific opportunities for collaboration in areas including:

a) aligning the future of the road transport sector with Paris Agreement

goals, focusing on the role of zero emission technologies and key

policies, while also considering the roles of alternative technologies in

the transition,

b) ensuring the transition to zero emission vehicles is truly global, leaving

no country or region behind,

c) ensuring the lifecycle (from production to scrapping) of zero emission

vehicles is sustainable and inclusive,

d) ensuring the enabling infrastructure is in place, including electric

vehicle chargepoints and hydrogen vehicle re-fuelling, in the context of

decarbonising the power sector and growing the hydrogen economy,

e) coordinating our innovation efforts.

5.As we work to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, we recognise that the

decisions we make today will be critical for laying the foundations for sustainable and

inclusive growth. As such, we commit to ensuring our recovery plans support an

accelerated transition to zero emission vehicles as part of broader efforts to boost

growth and employment, while promoting cleaner and more sustainable economies.

Signatories:

Alok Sharma, COP President and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and

Industrial Strategy, UK

Benny Engelbrecht, Minister of Transport, Denmark

Jared Blumenfeld, California Secretary for Environmental Protection

Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister for Ecological Transition, France

Kang Kyungsung, Deputy Minister, Trade and Investment, Ministry of Trade

Industry and Energy, South Korea

Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, Canada

Mathias Fischer, State Secretary, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Norway

Shigehiro Tanaka, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, Japan

Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary for Infrastructure & Water Management,

Netherlands

Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge,

Spain

Tomas Eneroth, Minister for Infrastructure, Ministry of Infrastructure, Sweden

Dr. Graciela Márquez Colín, Minister of Economy, Mexico