Last reviewed 20 November 2023
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has launched its Net Zero Forum Roadmap to help support the sector to decarbonise.
Available here, this opens with measures operators can take now to reduce carbon dioxide (C02) emissions from their existing diesel fleets.
Setting out how the RHA believes commercial vehicle decarbonisation can be achieved, the Roadmap will evolve as knowledge develops to overcome the practical challenges facing the industry.
It highlights the key dates in the years ahead such as 2030, when the Government’s Zero-Emission Road Freight Demonstrator Programme is expected to begin reporting. With £200 million invested in research and development of zero-emission vehicles weighing over 40 tonnes, the data derived from the trials will help confirm how these vehicles perform and inform private sector business cases to invest in these vehicles.
RHA Managing Director, Richard Smith, said: “We’re fully committed to shaping a way forward which brings operators’, manufacturers’ and retailers’ needs to life on the decarbonisation journey. Businesses need clarity and certainty to make the right investment choices in the years ahead.”
It is, he concluded, vital that the industry and others collaborate to chart the right path which supports businesses and meets Net Zero ambitions.
He invited operators and others to join the #NetZeroForum conversation on social media.
The RHA has predicted that sales of new diesel heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) below 18 tonnes can be stopped from 2035. These new vehicles are likely to be battery electric serving short-to-medium range operations (such as urban deliveries and journeys between regional operation centres).