Transport Committee says Government needs to ‘pick winners’ by investing in low carbon fuels
Thu 02 March 2023
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In a new report, the UK Parliament's cross-party Transport Committee says the Government needs to change its approach towards backing specific technology solutions to decarbonise UK transport, or risk falling behind its targets to cut emissions.
The Committee's ‘Fuelling the Future’ report makes recommendations on fuels for use across the transport sector. It urges the Government to move beyond its “deliberately technology agnostic” mindset, as stated in its 2019 Technology Innovation Strategy.
Part of the Committee's focus was on heavy goods vehicles, noting that the UK is the first country in the world to commit to phasing out new, non-zero emission HGVs weighing 26 tonnes or less by 2035, with all new models sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2040.
The Committee reported that witnesses said that certainty is needed about which decarbonisation technology is expected to be the fuel of choice for HGVs in the future, so that businesses can begin investing in the appropriate infrastructure for service stations.
Commenting on private cars, the Committee said that particularly for vehicle users in rural and isolated locations, people should not be expected to give up using diesel, petrol, or hybrid cars, as over time they will account for a negligible proportion of the population’s transport emissions. The Committee also reiterated a recommendation from its previous report, that Government should instead use some of its Rapid Charging Fund to bolster grid capacity in order to facilitate wider use of EV chargepoints in isolated areas.
The Committee report says that the Government’s commitment to electric vehicles should not come at the expense of continuing to explore the potential of alternative ‘drop in’ synthetic fuels and biofuels as a low carbon option for cars and other transport modes. Enabling greater access to alternative fuels could prove a socially equitable option for motorists, rather than necessitating purchases of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
It says that greater investment in sustainable fuels could mitigate the risks of EV battery production or grid capacity being insufficient and would cater for conventional vehicles that will remain on the road past the point at which sales of new ICE cars will be banned.
Transport Committee Chair Iain Stewart MP said: “The Committee heard time and again from experts that the Government’s solution-neutral approach was understandable up to a point. But the time has now come for ministers, using the knowledge of alternative fuels we now have across all modes of transport, to show leadership and pick winners."
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