This week saw the release of government’s long-awaited Transport Decarbonisation Plan. Although welcome, this ‘greenprint’ must include solutions that work for all modes of transport, including vans and HGVs.
The road ahead is clear – if you want to buy a new commercial vehicle weighing between 3.5 and 26 tonnes, it will have to be zero-emission by 2035, 2040 if it’s an HGV weighing more than 26 tonnes. The timeline is tight and ambitions are incredibly high, and for hauliers the key consideration remains infrastructure. Whether it’s refuelling or recharging, this plan must now be followed – and followed promptly – by an investment into charging stations, depots and truck stops that can pave the way for zero emission commercial vehicles.
Let’s not forget that these technologies are still in their infancy – so if the UK wants to be a leader in uptake, government must provide the right incentives and infrastructure so hauliers don’t defer their decarbonising decision to the last minute. Plus, given these vehicles operate across borders, we need to ensure the solutions work both for the UK and our close international markets.
