Andy Burnham has insisted no decision has been made on electric vehicle targets amid reports that his deputy is set to water down Net Zero rules on car sales.
The Prime Minister has recused himself from ruling on the zero-emissions targets because his wife, Marie-France van Heel, advises the board of electric vehicle charging company, Be.EV.
This means the decision will be overseen by his de facto deputy, Louise Haigh.
It was reported that she is expected to agree to cut the target for EV sales by about a quarter.
The zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate sets targets for the proportion of new-car sales that must be zero-emission.
Industry leaders believe the targets are moving more quickly than the market can bear, increasing costs and lessening consumer choice.
This Thursday, Mr Burnham is due to speak at COP31 – the UN climate summit being held in Turkey.
Asked how he would explain a watering down of the ZEV targets at a global climate conference, Mr Burnham dismissed reports on the mandates as “speculation”.
He said: “Well, the consultation on the mandate for zero-emission vehicles concluded only a fortnight ago, so obviously that is being looked at now.
“The range of responses to the consultation… so these reports are just that: they’re reports, they’re speculation and no decision has been made at this point.”
The Government launched a consultation in August on the ZEV mandate amid concerns from carmakers about the impact of the order to phase out the sale of purely petrol or diesel cars and vans.
The current regime requires 80 per cent of car sales to be zero-emission – usually electric-powered – by 2030, with hybrids allowed to make up the rest.
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Under the options set out in the consultation, the target could be cut to as low as 50 per cent.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has previously called the current mandate a “fantasy” and welcomed the review.
Addressing the Environmental Audit Committee last week, Matthew Croucher, chief economist for the SMMT, said that consumers were already moving towards electric cars.
But pushing the mandate faster than the market could absorb would result in higher costs and lower consumer choice, he warned.
He said: “I think the industry would generally welcome a slowdown in the rate of the trajectory.
“So we’ve just had the consultation and the SMMT response to that was that we would like to see a move towards the lower options provided, because it’s a very costly transition.
“I think everybody’s wedded to electrification. The industry has brought more than 180 battery electric vehicle models to the market, so there’s a huge array of products out there.
“The consumers are shifting towards it but, at the moment, they’re still being heavily supported in that transition.
“If you had a trajectory more in line with where we see natural demand moving towards, then that would mean it wouldn’t be quite so costly to shift towards that.
“The concern is at this point in time if you push the market too quickly then you end up having to potentially reduce volumes, or restrict choice to the consumer. And that ends up being more costly and also more damaging to the industry in the short term.”
The Guardian reported that ministers are expected to reduce the target for 2030 from 80 per cent of new car sales to 60 per cent.
This has triggered criticism from green campaigners, particularly given the timing as the international climate conference takes place.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted Mr Burnham remained committed to tackling climate change.
His attendance at the Cop 31 summit sends a “clear message that the UK remains a climate leader”, the spokesman said.
“The Government is fully behind the zero-emission vehicle mandate, and no decisions have been taken yet.
“We’re sticking to our commitments: on phasing out new cars that run only on petrol or diesel by 2030, (that) every new car and van will be zero emissions by 2035 and our legally binding net zero targets.
“None of that is changing.
“The consultation is about getting the details right, so the switch works for drivers, for carmakers and for the hundreds of workers whose jobs depend on it.”
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