In the first meeting of its kind, industry experts and government officials will be in London to discuss how to kick start the mass-market production of low-carbon and electric vehicles.
The event on Monday, October 27 is part of the British Prime Minister's initiative announced at this year's London Motor Show and is aiming to put the United Kingdom at the forefront of a green motoring revolution.
Energy, automotive, planning experts and government representatives from more than 15 countries will be debating many of the technological challenges, key barriers and opportunities that could be created from the low-carbon and electric vehicle market, and will also be gathering consensus on industry standards.
One of the meeting's aims will be to produce a declaration on how to take the outcomes forward. It's also expected that the progress made will be fed into the G8 Energy Forum in Japan in November and the London Energy Summit in December as low-carbon vehicles are expected to be on the agendas for both these events.
"Currently, less than 0.1 percent of the U.K.'s 26 million cars are electric. The government is committed to bring lower-carbon vehicles to Britain's roads as soon as possible,” said. British business minister Ian Pearson. “We need to act now to ensure that the U.K. is at the forefront of this new industry. The U.K.'s automotive sector has a global reputation for research and development, design engineering and manufacturing. The development of electric vehicle technology is an opportunity for the U.K. to take the lead and, given the current state of the global economy, we need to seize that opportunity now."
Recognized as one of the world's leading experts in the field, professor Dan Sperling, the director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California-Davis, is scheduled to speak at the event.
"I am delighted that the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has shown such leadership by taking this first critical step forward in the U.K.,” said Sperling. “He is to be commended in calling this important international meeting and setting the ball rolling for a low carbon vehicle future for the U.K. I am looking forward to discussing with experts from around the world how we can move forward one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century – the transformation of cars and the car industry."
