Climate experts are calling on the Government to take steps at a quicker pace to ensure electricity prices fall to help more drivers ditch their petrol and diesel vehicles.
A new report from the Climate Change Committee has assessed the Government's progress on reducing emissions towards its goal of achieving net zero by 2050.
It found that there has been positive delivery in certain aspects, with specific interest in the market share of new electric vehicles, which is around 20 per cent.
The report also praised Labour for providing clarity after Sir Keir Starmer reinstated the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel vehicles.
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The Climate Change Committee called for more to be done to slash electricity rates to boost EV uptake
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There are currently 1.5 million electric cars on UK roads, with the average price premium of a new EV falling from 37 per cent in 2023 to just 24 per cent in 2024.
Experts have suggested that drivers will see electric vehicles reach price parity with equivalent petrol and diesel models in the coming years. The CCC stated that this could happen between 2026 and 2028.
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate outlines that manufacturers must have at least 28 per cent of sales come from electric vehicles by the end of the year.
These targets will continue to increase over the coming years before reaching 80 per cent in 2030 and 100 per cent in 2030. Between the two deadlines, only new electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hybrid vehicles will be allowed to go on sale.
Professor Piers Forster, Interim Chair of the CCC, said: "The UK can be proud of our progress in reducing emissions. We've cut them by over 50 per cent since 1990.
"Our country is among a leading group of economies demonstrating a commitment to decarbonise society. This is to be celebrated: delivering deep emissions reduction is the only way to slow global warming."
Despite this, the CCC called on the Government to do more, with the main call being to make electricity cheaper.
The independent, statutory body found that this would help people feel the benefits of clean technologies, allowing them to invest in electric vehicles and heat pumps.
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GETTYThe latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), electric cars have a market share of 21.8 per cent of new vehicle sales, with 32,738 new registrations in May.
The SMMT has also called for urgent action to reduce prices, as manufacturers pay more for electricity than anywhere else in Europe.
This often sees production companies pay more than double the average price paid elsewhere, as well as energy taxes being six times higher in the UK.
As part of the key recommendations included in the CCC report, it calls for regulations requiring all new cars and vans sold after 2030 to be able to "travel a significant distance using electrical power alone".
Ed Miliband said the Government would take the CCC's feedback on board
PAIt also calls on Labour to improve the availability of local public charging, make public charging cheaper and develop further incentives for fleet operators to accelerate the uptake of zero emission vans.
Professor Forster added: "Given increasingly unstable geopolitics, it is also important to get off unreliable fossil fuels and onto homegrown, renewable energy as quickly as possible. The fossil fuel era is over - cheap, clean electricity is our future."
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband acknowledged the committee's report and said Labour was doing all it could to cut prices for Britons.
He added: "The only way to get bills down for good is by becoming a clean energy superpower and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver clean power for families and businesses."
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