Shell Anglo-Dutch group chief executive Ben Van Beurden is encouraging the UK to bring its 2040 fossil fuel ban forward.
The Guardian reports Beurden has encouraged the move, as British ministers, local government and environmental lobby groups appeal for a 2030 deadline.
The calls come after Germany overtook the UK for electric and hybrid vehicle registrations in 2017, which the Shell Ango-Dutch chief executive says would help the oil and gas giant with its investment decisions.
“I think the UK will have to go at a much higher speed than the speed the rest of the world can go,” Beurden says.
“If you would bring it forward, obviously that would be welcome.”
With the obvious threat to oil profits, Shell has been buying EV infrastructure start-ups and installing service station charging in the UK costing 25p per kWh until June 2018, before reverting to 49p.
The Green Alliance, an environmental think-tank, has previously said the renewable economy has been established as a profitable direction for the country with over 14,000 plug-in electric vehicles in the UK making up 2% of new car sales.
“The Government’s recent industrial strategy cites clean growth as one of the biggest economic opportunities for the UK, but if we keep building and buying dirty cars we’ll miss the growth opportunity of the century,” says policy director Dustin Benton.
