Birmingham will host the “world’s first” zero emission vehicles summit, following Theresa May’s pledge at the One Planet event in Paris.   

The summit will open with a conference in Birmingham on September 11, and will incorprate the Cenex low carbon vehicle event at Millbrook on September 12 and 13, which will see policy makers, industry experts and opinion formers share ideas in finding ways to improve air quality.

As the Prime Minister made clear in her Industrial Strategy speech, the UK has a mission to put itself at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles, making all new cars and vans effectively emission-free by 2040.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “The government is committed to meeting our climate change targets and cleaning up our air and to help achieve that we are investing £1.5bn in ultra-low emission vehicles by 2021.”

Business secretary Greg Clark added:“The Midlands has a rich automotive heritage and the growth of high-tech manufacturing across the region continues to drive investment into the region, produce highly skilled jobs and boost economic growth – making it an ideal place to lead the world in zero emission vehicles.”

Cenex’s chief executive Robert Evans said: “We are honoured that the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit will be linked to our 11th annual Cenex-LCV Event this year.

“The UK is at the forefront of low carbon vehicle technology innovation and we think there is great value for the ZEV attendees to see these technologies first-hand at the Cenex-LCV exhibition.”