LONDON — Britain will ban the sale of new gas, diesel and hybrid vehicles from 2035, five years earlier than planned, in an attempt to reduce air pollution and fossil fuel emissions, the government announced on Tuesday.
Britain's step amounts to a victory for electric cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as transform the car industry and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.
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The U.K. isn’t alone in its efforts. More than a dozen countries around the world have announced plans to crack down on new sales of gas and diesel vehicles in the next decade or two. France plans to ban the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars by 2040 and Norway's Parliament has set a non-binding goal that by 2025 all cars should be zero emissions.
Sept. 18, 201901:20
In addition to bringing forward to the date of the ban on new sales of gas and diesel vehicles, the government also included hybrid vehicles in the ban for the first time. It said that it would bring forward the date even closer if it is possible.
Last year, the U.K. pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, one of the most ambitious targets of any leading economy. The ban on sales of new gas and diesel vehicles fits into that goal.
"We know as a country, as a society, as a planet, as a species, we must now act," said Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a launch even for a U.N. Climate Change Conference planned for November in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26.
According to experts, the targets of countries to ban sales of new gas and diesel vehicles won’t be effective without accompanying action.
“Those targets need to be complemented by whole range of measures at the national and regional level, such as informing consumers about the vehicles on offer or building of the necessary charging infrastructure,” said Peter Mock, managing director of the International Council on Clean Transportation in Europe.
In Britain, diesel and gasoline models still account for most new vehicle registrations in Britain. However, registrations of electric vehicles rose 144 percent between 2018 and 2019, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
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Ikea has announced that it will shut down its Coventry city centre store this summer, in its first big closure of a UK outlet.
The Swedish flat-pack furniture giant said the store had made "consistent losses" since it opened in 2007, with fewer people visiting it than expected.
It said it would be consulting the 352 workers affected and would try to find them jobs at other stores.
Ikea added that it remained committed to growth in the UK.
Ikea said the store, one of 22 in the UK, had been built in the city centre as one of its earliest examples of testing a new format to meet customers' changing needs and expectations.
"However, given its location and the size of the land available at the time, the store was built over seven levels, which resulted in a significant impact on the operating costs of the store and the shopping experience for customers," the firm added.
"In addition, the changing behaviour of customers in the area who prefer to shop in retail parks and online has resulted in visitor numbers being substantially lower than expected and continuing to decrease over time."
After the closure, customers will have to journey to Birmingham, Nottingham or Milton Keynes to find their nearest Ikea branch.
Local people have been reacting to the move on social media.
Cov City centre is grim as it is, but one of the only things that does draw people into the city over Leam, Birmingham for a shopping experience is #IKEA - will have a big impact. Against a backdrop of City of Culture preparations, this is a dent to Coventry's pulling power
Ikea stores are generally in out-of-town locations and the firm has made various attempts to bring its outlets to city centres.
In 2018, it closed three smaller inner-city collection-point stores in Norway, which had been a test for a new format that it hoped to roll out worldwide.
Other retailers have been harder hit by the rise of online shopping, resulting in the disappearance of a number of well-known UK High Street brands.
Already this year, department store chain Beales has fallen into administration, while John Lewis has warned that its staff bonus may be in doubt after it reported lower Christmas sales at its stores.
Ikea is trying to respond to changing customer tastes, says Patrick O'Brien, GlobalData's retail research director.
"When the Coventry Ikea was opened, it was still very much about imposing the 'Ikea way' on customers; you walk this way round the maze, you pick it up yourself, you put it together yourself.
"Things have moved on in UK retail now, it's all about how best to serve the customer, and Ikea has had to adapt and change their model.
"This is about Ikea adapting how it uses physical spaces rather than a beginning of a retreat."
Fifty per cent of the UK's 10-year-olds owned a smartphone in 2019, according to a report by media regulator Ofcom.
The amount of young phone owners doubled between the ages of nine and 10, which Ofcom dubbed "the age of digital independence".
In addition, 24% of 3 and 4-year-olds had their own tablet, and 15% of them were allowed to take it to bed.
Ofcom's annual report looks at the media habits of children, and the types of devices they are using.
The 2019 study was based on more than 3,200 interviews with children and parents around the UK.
"The mobile phone is the device of choice for children," said Yih-Choung Teh, strategy and research group director at Ofcom.
"I'm conscious that for these children who have never known a world without the internet, in many respects their online and offline worlds are indistinguishable."
The report also found that more older children were using social media to express their support for social causes and organisations, with 18% having shared or commented on a post, and one in ten having signed an online petition.
Ofcom dubbed this "the Greta effect" after the 17-year-old environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Other key findings for 2019 included:
48% of girls aged 5-15 played online games, compared with 71% of boys. Boys spent twice as long playing, clocking up 14.5 hours per week, compared with 7.5 for girls
Snapchat and Facebook remained the most popular social media platforms of older children, but 62% were also using WhatsApp (up from 43% in 2018)
99% of children aged 5-15 used a TV set, 27% used a smart speaker and 22% used a radio
80% of the children in the report watched video-on-demand, and 25% watched no live broadcast TV at all. One nine-year-old girl told researchers: "I don't really like the TV because you can't pick what channels are on it".
Ofcom also interviewed parents about their concerns. It found that 45% of parents thought the benefits of children using the internet outweighed the risks, but there was an overall increase in parental concern about young people seeing content that might lead them to self-harm.
Just under half (47%) of the parents spoken to were worried about pressure to spend money within games, especially on loot boxes, where the reward is not clear before purchase.
Of those parents with children aged between 5 and 15, 87% had sought advice about how to keep them safe online.
"We are seeing around half of 12-15 year olds saying they have seen hateful content online, and an increase in parents who are concerned about it," said Yih-Choung Teh.
"The good news is, more conversations about staying safe online are also happening across the country."
Following the report, children's charity the NSPCC called for independent regulators to force social media platforms to protect their users from viewing harmful material.
"While it's encouraging that parents are talking to their children about their media use, we must look to tech giants to protect their users and ensure they are a force for good not bad," said Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy.
Fifty per cent of the UK's 10-year-olds owned a smartphone in 2019, according to a report by media regulator Ofcom.
The amount of young phone owners doubled between the ages of nine and 10, which Ofcom dubbed "the age of digital independence".
In addition, 24% of 3 and 4-year-olds had their own tablet, and 15% of them were allowed to take it to bed.
Ofcom's annual report looks at the media habits of children, and the types of devices they are using.
The 2019 study was based on more than 3,200 interviews with children and parents around the UK.
"The mobile phone is the device of choice for children," said Yih-Choung Teh, strategy and research group director at Ofcom.
"I'm conscious that for these children who have never known a world without the internet, in many respects their online and offline worlds are indistinguishable."
The report also found that more older children were using social media to express their support for social causes and organisations, with 18% having shared or commented on a post, and one in ten having signed an online petition.
Ofcom dubbed this "the Greta effect" after the 17-year-old environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Other key findings for 2019 included:
48% of girls aged 5-15 played online games, compared with 71% of boys. Boys spent twice as long playing, clocking up 14.5 hours per week, compared with 7.5 for girls
Snapchat and Facebook remained the most popular social media platforms of older children, but 62% were also using WhatsApp (up from 43% in 2018)
99% of children aged 5-15 used a TV set, 27% used a smart speaker and 22% used a radio
80% of the children in the report watched video-on-demand, and 25% watched no live broadcast TV at all. One nine-year-old girl told researchers: "I don't really like the TV because you can't pick what channels are on it".
Ofcom also interviewed parents about their concerns. It found that 45% of parents thought the benefits of children using the internet outweighed the risks, but there was an overall increase in parental concern about young people seeing content that might lead them to self-harm.
Just under half (47%) of the parents spoken to were worried about pressure to spend money within games, especially on loot boxes, where the reward is not clear before purchase.
Of those parents with children aged between 5 and 15, 87% had sought advice about how to keep them safe online.
"We are seeing around half of 12-15 year olds saying they have seen hateful content online, and an increase in parents who are concerned about it," said Yih-Choung Teh.
"The good news is, more conversations about staying safe online are also happening across the country."
Following the report, children's charity the NSPCC called for independent regulators to force social media platforms to protect their users from viewing harmful material.
"While it's encouraging that parents are talking to their children about their media use, we must look to tech giants to protect their users and ensure they are a force for good not bad," said Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy.
But it could be overshadowed by a blast from the summit's former head, who was recently sacked by the prime minister.
In a bitter retaliatory letter, Claire O’Neill accused Boris Johnson of promising money and people to support her work, but failing to deliver either.
The former Conservative government minister said: “The cabinet sub-committee on climate that you promised to chair, and which I was to attend, has not met once.
“In the absence of your promised leadership… departments have fought internal Whitehall battles over who is responsible and accountable for (the conference)”.
Downing Street has not yet replied to her accusations but Mr Johnson will hope that the letter will be trumped by the appearance of Sir David Attenborough at the launch event for COP26.
The prime minister will say the government plans will bring an end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars even earlier than 2035, if possible.
Hybrid vehicles are also now being included in the proposals, which were originally announced in July 2017.
The change, which will be subject to a consultation, is being planned because experts warned the previous target date of 2040 would still leave old conventional cars on the roads after the clean-up date of 2050.
COP26 is this year's meeting of the annual UN-led gathering set up to assess progress on tackling climate change
Mr Johnson is expected to say: “Hosting COP26 is an important opportunity for the UK and nations across the globe to step up in the fight against climate change.
“As we set out our plans to hit our ambitious 2050 net zero target across this year, so we shall urge others to join us in pledging net zero emissions.
“There can be no greater responsibility than protecting our planet, and no mission that a Global Britain is prouder to serve.
“It will be the year when we choose a cleaner, greener future for all.”
Mrs O’Neill differs. She says at this stage, the UK should have clear actions to communicate to the diplomatic network, an agreed plan of ministerial international engagements led by the prime minister, and a roadmap for the Year of Action.
“As of last Friday, we did not,” she regrets.
One source close to Mrs O’Neill said: “Boris doesn’t really know anything about climate change. He pays lip service, but hasn't got a clue.”
Mrs O'Neill herself has warned: “We are almost out of time to win the battle against climate change and start the process of climate recovery.”
“It became clear to me that the current format of the global talks needed to be re-energised and focused.
"The annual UN talks are dogged by endless rows over agendas, ongoing unresolved splits over who should pay and insufficient attention and funding for adaptation (to inevitable climate changes).
"It was particularly awful at the last conference in Madrid. While half a million climate action protestors gathered in the streets, I sat in plenary sessions where global negotiators debated whether our meeting should be classified as “Informal” or “Informal-Informal.
“There is,” she said, “ a yawning gap between what the world expects from us and where we are. It’s a systemic failure of global vision and leadership.”
Mrs O’Neill recommends:
Setting Net Zero emissions as the target for all climate ambition from countries, businesses, states and cities
Introducing a “properly-funded” global package for adapting to inevitable changes in the climate
Placing nature-based solutions (such as forest conservation) at the heart of the agenda
A new net zero sector deals from hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as cement and chemicals.
Her comments are not just aimed at government.
She criticised some climate negotiators, too, for refusing to accept that the annual parade of climate conferences won’t deliver the cuts needed for a stable climate.
“For some it is hard to give up on incrementalism even when it is demonstrably failing," she said.
“In my judgement, this isn’t a pretty place for us to be to be and we owe the world a lot better.”
Her words are likely to resonate round the world, although she is not the first climate diplomat to express this sort of frustration and she is unlikely to be the last.
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Commenting on plans for a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles, Friends of the Earth’s Mike Childs said: “The government is right to accelerate the phase-out of petrol and diesel cars to curb air pollution and address the climate emergency, but the ban should start in 2030 – not 2035.
“A new 2035 target will still leave the UK in the slow-lane of the electric car revolution and meantime allow more greenhouse gases to spew into the atmosphere"
“If the UK government wants to show real leadership ahead of this year’s climate summit it must also urgently reverse its plans for more climate-wrecking roads and runways – and pull the plug on its support for new gas, coal and oil developments.”
AA president Edmund King said: “Drivers support measures to clean up air quality and reduce CO2 emissions but these stretched targets are incredibly challenging.
"We must question whether we will have a sufficient supply of a full cross section of zero emissions vehicles in less than 15 years."
Police in London on Monday walked through an area where police killed a man who wounded two people in a knife attack the day before.
Photo:
facundo arrizabalaga/Shutterstock
LONDON—The British government said it would introduce emergency legislation to prevent the automatic early release of people convicted of terror offenses, a day after police shot and killed a man recently freed from jail who wounded two people in a knife attack.
Sudesh Amman,
20 years old, had recently been released from prison after serving part of his sentence for distributing terrorism-related material. He was wearing a fake suicide vest while carrying out the attack, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
He was the second such offender on early release to carry out a knife attack in London in just over two months.
Justice Secretary
Robert Buckland
told the House of Commons that emergency legislation would be introduced “to ensure an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically having served half of their sentence with no check or review.” The new law would also apply to people currently serving their sentences, he said.
British police shot and killed a man who had been recently released from prison after he stabbed two people. It was the second time in a few months that a person convicted of terrorism-related charges attacked people in London after being released. Photo: Ray Tang/Zuma Press
All terrorist offenders would have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentences, and any early release would need to be agreed to by the parole board, which would be strengthened so it could deal more effectively with the risks convicted terrorists posed to public safety, he said.
“We face an unprecedented situation of severe gravity,” he said.
The government announced a review of the automatic early release policy after the knife attack in late November near London Bridge, in which two people and the attacker were killed. But it wasn’t clear at the time that the changes that were being proposed after that attack would apply to existing prisoners.
That attacker,
Usman Khan,
28, had been released from prison 11 months earlier under a set of conditions that included an internet ban, a curfew and limitations on his movements and meetings. He carried a GPS tag allowing authorities to track his whereabouts.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
described it as an anomaly that some people convicted of terror offenses were still being freed under automatic early release without any kind of scrutiny or parole system.
Mr. Amman had been sentenced in December 2018 to three years and four months in prison for distributing terrorist information, after having already served part of the sentence, and was released early. Armed police were able to respond quickly on Sunday because they were trailing him.
Police said Mr. Amman, who had been released from prison on Jan. 23, had stolen a knife from a shop. The time taken for him to enter the shop and start his attack was about 60 seconds. Police shot and killed him after a further roughly 60 seconds.
Officials in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe have acknowledged the growing security challenge stretched counterterrorism services face from people convicted of terror offenses returning into the community after serving their sentences, a parallel test to one posed by jihadists returning from Middle East war zones. Sentences for terror offenses are generally shorter across Europe than they are in the U.S.
Prison-reform advocates have argued that longer sentences rarely provide an answer, saying incarceration sometimes only serves to further radicalize individuals. They say resources need to be focused on effective deradicalization programs.
People like Mr. Khan—originally sentenced for his part in a bomb plot focused on the London Stock Exchange and other targets—also present a challenge to the legal system. He carried out his attack while attending a conference on deradicalization, having convinced the authorities that he had recanted his terrorist views.
LONDON — A man was shot by police officers after a number of people were stabbed in South London on Sunday, in what the authorities described as a “terrorist-related” incident.
The conditions of the man and those stabbed were not immediately clear.
The Metropolitan Police wrote on Twitter on Sunday that they believed that “a number of people have been stabbed” and that the man had been shot by armed officers in Streatham, about five miles south of Westminster.
#INCIDENT A man has been shot by armed officers in #Streatham. At this stage it is believed a number of people have been stabbed. The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related. Please follow @metpoliceuk for updates
Images on social media showed the body of a man lying on the pavement while at least two officers pointed guns at him.
London was hit by a terrorist attack as recently as November, when a radicalized man was shot dead by the police after he killed two people near London Bridge.
The current terrorism-related threat level in Britain is classified as substantial, meaning that an attack is “likely,” according to the country’s Security Service.
