Sadiq Khan joins Labour figures urging PM not to water down electric vehicle targets – UK politics live

Kiran Stacey is the Guardian’s policy editor.

Sadiq Khan has become the most high-profile Labour figure to weigh into the increasingly fractious debate over what the government should do with its electric vehicle targets.

Ministers are meeting today in Downing Street to decide whether to cut legally binding requirements for carmakers to ensure 80% of the vehicles they sell in 2030 are electric.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, is pushing for the target to be reduced to 50%, but Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, wants to keep it as close to 80% as possible.

But as ministers wrangle among each other, City Hall officials have made clear that the London mayor is on Fahnbulleh’s side. Khan’s position was laid out in a letter from his deputy mayor for transport Seb Dance to Oliver Lord, the UK director of Clean Cities, which has been seen by the Guardian.

double quotation mark We and Transport for London share your view that the ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] mandate must not change. We outlined in our submission to the government’s consultation that London supports a strong and credible ZEV mandate.

We do not support any weakening of the current trajectories to 2030 or beyond, which risks damaging the case for investment in the ZEV and charging infrastructure industries, slowing down the pace of change, and the associated reduction in harmful emissions.

Department for Transport officials insist that no decision has yet been made but with the government likely to announce a cut to the 2030 target in the next two weeks, this is likely to leave Khan opposed to official government policy.