Recent media interpretation of the report ‘Decarbonising Road Transport – There is no silver bullet’ by Clarendon Communications does not in any way reflect the position of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP).
LowCVP provided some specific information and was asked to comment on the report prior to its publication but was not a co-sponsor of it.
LowCVP fully supports the Government’s proposed 2030 phase-out date for conventional ICE vehicles and believes electrification of road transport is a critical element of the transition to zero emissions. (LowCVP’s submission to the Government’s consultation prior to the announcement was clear in its support for a 2030 conventional ICE phase-out.)
LowCVP supports the decarbonisation of road transport by using ‘all the tools in the box’. While the vehicles are still on the road, emissions from the legacy ICE fleet, as well as hybrids sold between 2030 and 2035 should be minimised alongside wider vehicle electrification. Consequently, LowCVP also supports the use of verifiably sustainable, lower carbon and renewable fuels.
Life-cycle analysis (sourced from Polestar in the report) has not been properly contextualised in several media reports. These highlight a single snapshot to suggest only modest emissions benefits arising from EV adoption. As stated in the report, energy grids in UK and elsewhere are rapidly decarbonising and EV battery and associated production processes are also improving so the life-cycle impacts of electric vehicles are on a sharply improving trajectory.
LowCVP has been a lead proponent of efforts to incorporate the full life-cycle analysis of road transport CO2 emissions and other sustainability factors into policy decisions and will continue to do so. [See Webinar Series earlier this year] However, this is a complex area and analysis of life-cycle impacts should be seen as a key part of the process towards achieving zero emissions transport and not – as in this case – as a misleading tool to undermine progress.