the guardian)
CEO says earlier date would ease investment decisions and shift consumer attitudes
Adam VaughanThu 5 Jul 2018 15.04 BST
Shell, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, has backed calls for the UK to bring forward its 2040 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.Ben van Beurden, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch group, said he welcomed the idea of bringing forward the ban, as it would provide clarity and make it easier for companies like Shell to make investment decisions and also shift consumer attitudes.
Asked if he would like to see the ban take effect earlier, as MPs, mayors and thinktanks have called for, he said: “If you would bring it forward, obviously that would be welcome. I think the UK will have to go at a much higher speed than the speed the rest of the world can go.”
While Africa and Asia would out of necessity have to switch to battery vehicles at a slower rate, it would be welcome if the UK accelerated its plan, the executive told the Guardian. “The world will work at different speeds,” he said.
The rise of electric cars, which the government is banking on to displace conventional cars and cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, poses a double whammy for oil companies.
As well as cutting demand for their main product – though how fast and how deeply is hotly disputed – the switch also threatens their petrol stations.
Shell has responded by buying electric car infrastructure firms and beginning to install charging points on forecourts, while BP last week bought the UK’s biggest electric-car charging network for £130m.
