Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, car manufacturers and industry are calling for more clarity over a potential delay to the UK's ban on new diesel and petrol car sales. They warn they could lose money on investments made ahead of this "vital" deadline.

Here's a brief timeline of how the date for phasing out combustion engine cars has changed:

• July 2017: Then-environment secretary Michael Gove says it will be 2040. He says this was set out in Tory Party manifesto for 2015's general election
• February 2020: Boris Johnson commits to plans to bring the ban forward to 2035 when he was prime minister
• February 2020: Just a few days later, Johnson's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the ban could come in in 2032
• November 2020: Johnson announces more details. New cars and vans that use only petrol or diesel will not be sold from 2030. Some hybrid vehicles are exempt but only up until 2035
• September 2023: Earlier this month, Rishi Sunak maintains 2030 is the end goal but that now looks set to change again

New cars and vans that use only petrol or diesel will not be sold in the UK after 2030, under the current plan. But some hybrids will still be allowed.

The idea is to encourage motorists to use electric vehicles.

Currently, between 2030 and 2035 plug-in hybrids or full hybrids - vehicles that are able to drive a "significant" distance with zero emissions - will be allowed.

This distance was due to be defined in late 2021 via a consultation but it is unclear if this has taken place.

The policy was due originally set to come into force in 2040. But experts warned the government it would not meet the net zero target if it didn't change schedule.

But leaked documents seen by the BBC suggest this could change again to 2035.

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Senior Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has backed Rishi Sunak's move to delay key green targets, saying it is "absolutely the right approach".

He said the government needed to adopt "intelligent net zero" that is affordable and doesn't "harm our industry".

"We've got problems with our approach at the moment. Sometimes its the targets that were set, relatively arbitrarily and in optimistic hope the technology would be ready, which it may not be," he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One.

Rees-Mogg, who served in Boris Johnson's cabinet, said he's "never been as much of a net zero zealot" as the former prime minister.

"I mean, he genuinely believes in a more high wire approach in this area," he said.

"I like to have a safety net under any high wire and I think what the government's doing now is using the safety net."

Asked if he believed net zero would be delivered by 2050, he said he "wouldn't hang my hat on a particular date".

"But do I think that technology can help us decarbonise? Yes I do," he added.

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Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith - who quit as environment minister in June - has called for a general election following reports that the government is about to delay some of its 2030 net zero targets.

In a post, external on X (formerly known as Twitter), Lord Goldsmith wrote that he had received "hundreds of messages from Conservative friends telling me me this move by the PM vindicates my decision to noisily resign".

"We need an election. Now," he concludes.

We've just heard from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who says "we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country".

He adds that it is crucial that businesses have confidence in the government's net zero policy.

Without specifically criticising the anticipated delay, Johnson makes the argument for environmental policies, saying the "green industrial revolution is already generating huge numbers of high quality jobs and helping to drive growth".

"Business and industry - such as motor manufacturing - are rightly making vast investments in these new technologies. It is those investments that will produce a low carbon future - at lower costs for British families," he says.

Image source, UK Parliament

Lord Deben, the former chair of the Committee on Climate Change which advises the government, called the expected relaxing of pledges "stupid" and "so ridiculous".

He said ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 would save people money and help to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

Lord Deben was a cabinet minister under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

Speaking on Radio 4's The World at One, he sounded furious about the shift in policy.

It would be "extremely damaging" because "who would believe government pledges on climate change in future?"

London mayor Sadiq Khan claims the Conservative government "turned its back" on insulation, retrofitting homes, investing in solar and offshore wind 10 years ago. He says this resulted in higher energy bills.

Speaking on the World at One, Khan repeatedly tells the BBC's Jonny Dymond the shift change makes "no sense" - whether economically or in the sense of urgency in tackling the climate emergency.

He adds: "Over the last few years, the UK's reliance on overseas fossil fuel energy has just been exporting jobs elsewhere.

"Who's going to be making these electric cars, the electric vehicle charging points? The reality is we will be making these at some stage in the future but it will be later rather than sooner."

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Iqra Farooq
BBC Newsbeat

BBC Newsbeat went to a car garage in Birmingham to ask mechanics there what they think about Rishi Sunak watering down his net zero plans.

Chloe Hudson, 25, says while they agree a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars is good for the climate, you have to think about the cost-of-living crisis too.

"It's great for the environment and climate change and things like that," she says.

"But when something goes wrong, is that person then prepared to spend thousands of pounds on their vehicle?"

She adds that buying spare parts for hybrid and electric cars isn't cheap and might not be affordable to most people. "The price of hybrid batteries could be anywhere from £6,000 to £10,000."

Steve Todd, who also works at the garage, says he doesn't think their trade is ready for the switch to happen just yet.

"We're one of the very few garages out there at the moment that actually take on these vehicles," the 32-year-old says.

"And it is very, very difficult for owners to find garages to service and maintain them.

"So I don't think it's a bad thing [to delay the ban]."

The New Conservatives group, which includes MPs elected since the Brexit referendum, has welcomed the prime minister's new approach as "common sense".

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, co-chairs Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger say Tory voters will welcome the party being "on the side of working people who are trying to get on, make a living, and provide for their families".

Electric vehicles are attractive to "better off" people and "many of those who backed our party in 2019 are not in that situation", they add.

Some wider reaction to the reported changes now, with Save the Children saying rolling back climate commitments would be "a betrayal of children's futures".

"It exposes the prime minister’s supposed ambition to make the UK a place ‘we all want it to be for our children’ as mere lip service," says Shruti Agarwal, the charity's senior adviser on climate change and sustainable economies.

Agarwal adds the government is "already falling short on climate targets" and the future of children depends on "bold action now".

Suneil Asar
Live reporter

We've spoken to Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, who has shared his views on reports that the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles could be pushed back to 2035.

Williams says we've made huge progress on getting more electric vehicles on the road but without "a line in the sand of 2030" there's a danger that it could slow down.

He added: "Without more being produced, prices are less likely to come down", which could discourage people from buying them.

"It is still considerably cheaper to drive an electric, so people could be saving [money], but obviously they have to be able to afford the vehicle in the first place."

We've asked to hear your thoughts on this story and you've been sending us your responses - and there are loads! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

Here are some of your views:

Deborah Hemsley says the government's decision to scale back its 2030 net zero target is a "massive mistake," as there are people who have already invested in electric cars - even though they cost more.

On the other side of the debate, Lesley Singers agrees with the government's decision, and argues that the UK's climate change policy "has been driven by the 0.5% eco-warriors at a cost to the rest of the population".

A senior Labour MP has reiterated the party's commitment to reinstate the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, if Rishi Sunak confirms the delay this afternoon.

The party's shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has signalled this on X, external, formerly Twitter, arguing the government's change in policy will damage the British car industry.

Conservative MP Simon Clarke, a cabinet minister under both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, has described the government's prospective relaxing of net zero targets as a "political misstep”, ahead of a speech by the prime minister this afternoon.

Speaking to BBC deputy political editor Vicki Young, he says what has been trailed is “a significant change in our policy”.

Clarke says the investment of billions of pounds in the UK by major companies is being put “in peril because of what feels like an unnecessary political misstep and a misreading of where people are on this issue”.

He calls for “predictability and certainty” rather than pushing back the dates for climate measures and what he calls sowing the seed of doubt.

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The Lib Dems haven't held back with their criticism of Sunak's shift change.

He is "intent on trashing the economy of the future", says Leader Sir Ed Davey.

"The British people are trying to do the right things for our planet, even as they are struggling to make ends meet. But they have been let down over and over again."

Davey claims this announcement will put "hundreds of thousands" of jobs at risk and leave people with "sky-high" energy bills.

"Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives clearly don't have a clue what's best for the future of our planet or our economy", he adds.

It's a Wednesday and you'd expect to see our coverage of Rishi Sunak at the despatch box. And, ordinarily the reports of a change to the government's net zero plans would dominate PMQs, but not today.

The Commons is in recess as the parties hold their big set-piece conferences over the coming weeks.

The founder of FairChange, a campaign group which works to encourage a switch to electric vehicles, says the change to net zero plans could risk "billions in investment and thousands of jobs".

Motoring journalist Quentin Wilson says "Sunak must ignore the siren calls of a coven of fossil fuel-supporting backbenchers, and listen to the global investment community instead".

On the other side of the debate is Howard Cox, the Reform UK candidate for London mayor and founder of fuel price campaign FairFuelUK.

He claims the 2030 date for banning new petrol and diesel cars was "always doomed", and says he is "delighted we now have some new breathing space to get it scrapped completely".

While we wait for more details on the government's new net zero plans, the car industry is calling for clarity:

• Car maker Stellantis, which owns brands including Vauxhall, Fiat, Citroen, and Peugeot, says the company is committed to achieving "100% zero emission new car and van sales in the UK and Europe by 2030", but "clarity" is needed from the government.
• The AA, the breakdown cover service which operates in other parts of the motor industry, echoed this call - saying the 2030 target was "ambitious but achievable". It says that "more support is needed in terms of charging infrastructure to help the transition to zero-emission vehicles".
• A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover says "JLR is investing £15 billion over the next five years to electrify our luxury brands", which is key to it reaching its net zero targets by 2039. During the summer, Tata, the owner of JLR, announced it would be building a £4bn electric vehicle battery factory in Somerset

We now know Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will deliver a speech this afternoon.

BBC News understands that this will be about net zero, with the government likely to set out how it is changing the target date for ending the sale of internal combustion engine cars, among other things.