The UK government’s Climate Change Committee has recently issued its Seventh Carbon Budget which sets national carbon emission targets for 2038 to 2042 with a view to achieving net zero by 2050.
The Budget looks at all contributing factors to climate change and refers to several key points related to vehicles and surface transport. These include: reducing emissions; accelerating the transition to electric vehicles; enhancing public transport; the setting of stricter standards for the fuel efficiency of vehicles; and support for the development of hydrogen fuel cells and other low carbon technologies, including Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) which is considered to be a sustainable alternative to traditional diesel oil.
Logistics UK Director of Policy, Kevin Green, said the report rightly recognises the incentives and government policy that is needed to support the sector to achieve net zero. “The logistics sector is already embracing the decarbonisation agenda and is committed to playing its part to help the UK achieve net zero,” he said. “The report from the Climate Change Committee highlights a strategy is needed to deliver commercial vehicle charging infrastructure, speed up new grid connections, alongside incentives to tackle higher vehicle costs. Without this, the industry feels it is being set up to fail.”
He also said that it is critical for government to incentivise the use of alternative fuels, such as HVO, that can be used in diesel engines without any modifications. “Its use effectively means the industry could reduce carbon emissions by 80% overnight,” he explained. “And while there are some challenges to address regarding HVO production, these are not insurmountable and significantly easier to achieve than installing electrification infrastructure and replacing every commercial vehicle on the road in the short to medium term. Our members have long been calling for a coherent strategy for the role low carbon fuels can play in the transition to net zero, but the government continues to overlook the opportunity that these present.”
Mr Green concludes: “The decarbonisation of the logistics sector must be underpinned by an agreed roadmap to net zero and the phase-out of fossil fuels, based on the availability of technology, infrastructure investment, regulatory reform and tax incentives. We believe this is the only way to ensure a fair transition to net zero which protects the UK’s supply chains, while helping drive the government’s growth agenda.”
The report also shows that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the UK have fallen by around one third since 2010 and to just half their 1990 level. This puts the UK on track to achieve net zero by 2050, as planned.