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Decarbonisation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, Logistics UK tells Transport Committee
Supporting economic growth and reaching net zero transport emissions do not have to be mutually exclusive, Jonathan Walker, Head of Cities and Infrastructure Policy, Logistics UK, told MPs while giving evidence before the Transport Committee at the Houses of Parliament last week (1 March 2023).
The vision set out in the Department for Transport’s £27.3 billion Road Investment Strategy 2 includes both the ambition to support economic growth and reach net zero transport emissions by 2050. Walker was asked to comment on the extent to which those two goals were in conflict.
“The logistics sector is ready and willing to play its part in that transition to net zero,” he said, “We have to accept that for the foreseeable future the vast majority of freight will continue to be moved by road.”
Arguing that road is currently the only practical mode for last-mile journeys, when freight is moved off rail, ports and airports, Walker said that the transition to net zero would need to be included from the very outset, when new road schemes were being planned. Future development needs to include plans for a wide variety of alternative fuelling options that the industry is exploring, including hydrogen and electric vehicles, all of which have their own use cases.
“It’s clear that, certainly as we look to RIS 3 and beyond, even if we’re not certain yet what the most widespread technology will be, planning for roadside facilities and chargepoints needs to be baked in. Then I think we get to a point where actually those two goals aren’t in conflict with one another, but one enables the other.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/campaigns/better-infrastucture
Published On: 09/03/2023 16:00:49
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