Calls for the consultation period on the planned phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 to be extended are unnecessary and will be resisted, the Environment Minister has confirmed.
A petition requesting the consultation to be extended to 30 April this year has so far gathered 342 signatures.
The petition – created by Michael Cook, who works at a motorcycle shop in town – said its length hasn’t allowed “key stakeholders in the Island’s motoring community to contribute” and is missing the “experience and opinions of numerous”.
However, in a recent statement, Environment Minister Steve Luce revealed it will not be extended and his department will be proceeding with its analysis.
While he acknowledged the petition, he said that it is “imperative that we now get on with analysing the responses received”.
This, he added, is in part because “vehicle retailers and motorists alike need clarity” on what decision will eventually be made.
“This will rightly take some time, but I will be looking to make an announcement at the earliest opportunity about how we intend to proceed,” the Minister said, adding that he wants to “emphasise that no final decisions have yet been taken” on whether or not petrol and diesel will be phased out by 2030.
And, he said: “If there is compelling evidence to deviate from the model agreed in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, this will be the direction we follow.”
The Carbon Neutral Roadmap is a policy framework approved by the States Assembly which details the Island’s plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
It included proposals to phase out the importation and registration of petrol and diesel vehicles that are new to the Island from 2030 onwards.
Following the rejection of the petition, Mr Cook said he still believes there has been a lack of engagement with the public and affected parties.
“It was only in December last year that we [he and others at the motorcycle shop] found out there was this consultation,” he said.
In response, Deputy Luce said: “I appreciate the concerns raised by Mr Cook and those who supported his petition.”
He added that listening to Islanders was “at the heart of this policy process” since its launch on 6 November last year to when it closed at the end of January.
The “long consultation period” ran for 12 weeks because the government “recognises how important this issue is to Islanders, business and industry”, he added.
Deputy Luce said there were several methods of engagement, such as a survey, which had more than 2,000 responses and public pop-up events.
It is also “important to note” that mopeds and motorcycles are “not included within the scope of this policy”, he added.
For this reason, he said the consultation did not specifically target the motorcycle community but added that anyone had been welcome to take part.