U.K. to Plow $370 Million Into Delivery Drones, Flying Taxis

Aug 23, 2019

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(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. announced a 300 million-pound ($370 million) investment aimed to spur the development of greener flights for people and goods.

The government will put 125 million pounds into the initiative, which will to supplement 175 million pounds from industry, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said in a statement late Friday.

The intention is to support new technologies including freight-carrying drones, flying urban taxis, and electric passenger planes. No details were provided on what companies were involved.

“From our shopping choices to planning our holidays, we rightly want to make decisions that protect the planet,” Johnson said ahead of his visit to the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, where he’ll urge greater action to tackle climate change.

He said the U.K. has a lead in developing green technology and that he will lengthen it, “supporting our industry and our citizens to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Britain has pledged to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 in order to protect the environment. That decision implies a sea-change in how people travel, produce electricity and heat their homes.

Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee said on Thursday that it will be impossible to achieve unless the government implements a raft of low-carbon policies immediately.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Reed Landberg, James Herron

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