Last year sales of petrol and diesel cars slumped by 39% and 55% respectively while sales of electric cars leapt by 185% to take 6.6% of the market, up from 1.6% in 2019. This transformation is being driven by a combination of the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and a bigger choice of electric cars with better range.

A similar revolution is brewing on construction sites. Developers and public sector clients have set themselves ambitious targets to deliver net zero buildings, and main contractors are having to follow suit. Sir Robert McAlpine, for example, has set itself a target to be net zero in terms of the energy use it directly controls by 2025, and Mace is doing the same.

These ambitions are being given a push by the banning of the use of red diesel on construction sites from April next year. Red diesel has a duty rate of 11p a litre compared with 57p a litre for white diesel, which must be used in road vehicles.