Policy must recognise broader range of technology for decarbonising transport

A new study which models vehicle life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across a range of vehicles, powertrains and fuel/energy pathways shows significant greenhouse gas savings can be made by switching to renewable fuels.

The new study from Zemo Partnership says a life-cycle approach is needed to understand the real environmental impact of different fuel and vehicle options. The report, says Zemo, provides further evidence to show that renewable fuels can make a cost effective, immediate and significant contribution to meeting UK greenhouse gas emission targets.

The UK needs to cut GHG emissions from surface transport by almost 100 million tonnes by 20351, extending to around 136 million tonnes by 2050. The earlier that emissions reductions are made, the greater their impact in terms of limiting climate heating.

Zemo analysis shows that in all vehicle segments modelled, renewable fuels offer significant GHG emissions savings when compared with conventional, predominantly fossil-content fuels. And in some circumstances, renewable fuels can achieve greater GHG emissions savings for the available budget than battery electric vehicles using grid electricity. Rapid decarbonisation of UK power supplies will shift the balance in favour of electrification over time.

The analysis, says Zemo, shows that a one-size-fits-all approach to road vehicle applications is unlikely to be the optimal solution to road transport decarbonisation, at least in the short to medium-term.

The study authors recommend that transport policy and legislation should be more directly informed by vehicle life cycle GHG emissions data, and not focused solely on mitigating tailpipe emissions.

Operators of electric vehicles should also consider the size and capacity of the batteries used in their vehicles and optimise these depending on the use case. For instance, larger, heavier batteries offer improved vehicle range, but emit more GHG emissions during production, increase vehicle consumption and may also reduce payload capacity.

Report co-author and Zemo’s Head of Sustainability, Gloria Esposito, said “Zemo’s study elegantly demonstrates the importance of life cycle GHG emission analysis in fairly comparing different powertrain technologies and renewable fuels against today’s fossil fuel counterparts. Our work shows the significant contribution renewable fuels can continue to make towards reducing road transport GHG emissions. In particular, quick wins are available to the UK HGV fleet sector today.

“Transport policy has to rapidly evolve to embrace life cycle GHG emissions metrics. This is imperative to safeguard against unintended consequences and to enable a broader range of technology options to be recognised as viable candidates for decarbonising transport.”