What Is The Industry Doing To Achieve Net Zero Status?
Many of us are already taking important steps to help lower greenhouse gas emissions across our operations. Logistics companies are investing in lower carbon fuels and technologies, changing their business practices to improve the efficiency of their fleet operations, and providing training to encourage good driver behaviours to lower fuel consumption and emissions. But to achieve net zero, much more needs to be done across all transport modes and parts of the supply chain.
The road to decarbonisation requires commitment and collaboration between the private and public sector to ensure that companies and countries reduce their emissions. Logistics is one key area where there is vast room for improvement. Slashing planet-warming gases will be instrumental in helping nations and corporates hit their climate goals.
What Did The UK Promise?
In 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass the net zero emissions law, this means that our country promised to end our contribution to global warming by 2050. The original target was to create at least an 80% reduction in gas emissions from 1990 levels; but this has since upgraded to the aim of being entirely net zero within the next 29 years.
The UK has already reduced emissions by 42% and has placed clean growth at the heart of the modern industrial strategy. According to the Government, this could see the number of “green-collar jobs” grow to 2 million and the value of exports from the low carbon economy grow to £170 billion a year by 2030.
Other pledges made by the Government include:
- £620m in grants for electric vehicles and charging points, plus £350m to help the transition from petrol
- Grants of up to £5,000 for householders to install low-carbon heat pumps
- Funding to develop small nuclear reactors (most recently, Boris Johnson has announced £700 million funding for Sizewell C)
- £625m for tree planting and peat restoration
- More money for carbon capture and storage hubs
What About The Transport Industry?
The Government has announced a ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, and that all the UK’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2035. This is already rolling into the logistics world with new electric trucks being put on the road every week and new charging points and battery fuel stations being erected to keep the supply chain moving.
Only recently, we spoke about what the future of logistics will look like, and it will come as no surprise that sustainability-focused decisions were at the forefront of the next few years. Whether that be the switch from fuelled trucks to electric, or even just drivers making more conscious decisions about their life on the road, such as reducing plastic.
Whilst every little helps, we at Barnes understand that big changes need to come from the top and look forward to seeing how the Government’s plans unfold, and how we as a logistics operator can slot right into them and work towards a greener future for everybody.
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