According to recent documents released by the Department for Transport, there is concern that the UK will miss its net zero targets due to a planned surge in road-building, hybrid vehicle pollution, and van traffic.

The transport decarbonisation plan had to be amended, adding  130 megatonnes of carbon emissions because of an oversight regarding polluting hybrid vehicles, and projections for an increase in van traffic.

The Department admits that PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) are significantly more polluting in the real world than in test drives.

The plan also projected higher HGV and van traffic than previously assumed, contributing to the increase in carbon emissions.

The Department has recently come under fire for a new policy that requires decision-makers to ignore the negative climate impact of road-building and traffic, while placing emphasis on tree planting around road schemes as a nature-based solution to climate change.

Campaigners suggest that meeting the net zero targets will require a drastic reduction in motor traffic, and the government needs to prioritize better public transport and cycling infrastructure.

Critics, including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK, believe that any government supporting and funding  a major programme of new roads  during a climate emergency, can only be considered as failing.