To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) local and (b) national targets have been set by his Department for the uptake of low carbon vehicles in the public and private sectors since 1997; and what progress against each target has been made. (108661)

[holding answer 12 December 2006]: DfT has not set local targets for uptake of low carbon vehicles.

The Powering Future Vehicles Strategy set national targets of 10 per cent. of all new car sales to be cars emitting 100g/km of CO₂ or less at the tailpipe by 2012 and 600 or more buses coming into operation per year to be low carbon, defined as 30 per cent. below current average carbon emissions, by 2012. These targets are currently under review.

The European voluntary agreements on new car fuel efficiency require European, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers to reduce average new car CO₂ emissions by some 25 per cent. from 1995 levels by 2008-09. In 2004 (the latest year for which EU-level data is available), average CO₂ emissions from new cars sold in the EU were down by more than 12 per cent.