Is The Governments Ultra Low Emissions Plan For HGV Vehicles Enough?

The new government publication ‘Driving The Future Today – A Strategy For Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles In The UK’ has outlined plans for producing a fleet of new ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK. The majority of support has been designated for making cars more carbon efficient by introducing a charging points system to encourage drivers. Criticism has come from the FTA (Freight Transport Association) who claim that not enough financial support is being given to the HGV industry.

There is no question that more needs to be done to reduce the carbon footprint on our roads and any change or encouragement to that effect is a good thing, but more needs to be done to offer incentives for HGVs as well as cars. HGVs are a constant and increasingly necessary presence on our roads, they are crucial for delivering and transporting goods from A to B making them a vital part of the UK economy and as our fleet expands it is becoming increasingly important for it to decarbonise.

A spokesperson for the FTA has highlighted the need for greater support and financial incentives for the HGV sector to lower their emissions. £500 million has been pledged by the DfT (the Department for Transport) to fund advancement in ultra-low emission vehicles, alternate fuel and low carbon technology up to 2020 but only £6.5 million has been allocated to HGVs.

The new strategy is of course a further step in the right direction towards a more sustainable tomorrow.

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