BEXHILL ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP
How to Reduce UK Transport Carbon Emissions from 27% to zero by 2050.
Talk by Huw Merriman MP, Chair of The Transport Select Committee and MP for Bexhill and Battle
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Held in St Mark’s Hall, Little Common, Bexhill-on-Sea at Friday 30th Sep 2022 7pm-8:30pm
The Rother Environmental Group and the Bexhill Environmental Group hosted a talk by our local MP Huw Merriman. 50 visitors attended the talk which was split into 2 sections. During the first 40 minutes, Huw explained some of the work done and the information accrued by the Transport Select Committee and some of its recommendations submitted to the UK Government. The second part involved 50 minutes of questions and answers.
Introduction. Huw’s talk began by splitting the major carbon emitters into sectors. Transport currently generates 24% of the UK carbon dioxide emissions and is the heaviest polluting sector in the UK. Other sectors that also emit large amounts of CO2 include: energy 21%, business 18%, agriculture 12%. Huw believes the UK Government has not done enough yet to decarbonise transport if we are to achieve net zero by 2050.
Road. The UK Government has identified the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric as an important step in decarbonising UK transport. Sales of new petrol and diesel and some hybrid cars will be banned in the UK from 2030. Drivers will be able to continue to drive, buy and sell second hand petrol and diesel cars beyond 2030. However, the number of these carbon emitting vehicles on our roads will reduce over time as old cars are scrapped etc.
Electric cars production is increasing by 76% and EVs took 11% of the UK car sales market in 2021. Electric or hybrid cars make up 2% of the vehicles on UK roads and this percentage is increasing. Huw recommends that manufacturers are incentivised to produce electric cars over other engine types. However, there are several factors limiting consumers from buying electric cars e.g., high initial cost, range anxiety, frequency of available working charging points, incompatible charging points and different software/apps and different pricing packages.
There are 34,000 public EV charging points installed across the UK and the Government has invested £1 billion to roll out new charging points. Fees to recharge at public points tend to be 60% to 75% higher than at private charge points installed at people’s homes. The Transport Select Committee forecasts that the UK will need between 200,000 and 9,000,000 public charging points after the year 2030. The committee has made many recommendations to the UK Government to help overcome public perceptions of electric cars. Huw suggests local authorities commission “Charging Champions” to check EV charging sites work in their region.
One third of UK households do not have access to off road parking so there is a need for a widespread network of publicly accessible EV charging points and to cater for long journeys. The first priority is to build new EV charging sites in heavy traffic areas and along motorways. Drivers that travel mostly in rural areas may have to wait longer until they have access to public charge points.
Most electric cars will be recharged from the national grid. However, only 40% of national electric supplies come from “green” sources e.g., wind, solar etc. This percentage will increase over the long term as polluting power stations are closed down. So electric cars will also have a carbon footprint albeit smaller than petrol and diesel. There is not enough electricity in the National Grid for us all to drive electric cars so we need to encourage other more sustainable forms of transport.
The Exchequer receives 4% of its tax revenues from motorists e.g., 70p per litre of fuel is tax. Total motoring taxes amount to approximately £35 billion per year but only about £7 billion is spent on roads while the rest is invested in schools, hospitals etc. As more motorists switch to electric vehicles from petrol and diesel, the tax income will reduce and will need to be replaced. A new system based upon when, where and how far travelled may result, perhaps using black box technology similar to that used by young drivers for reduced insurance rates.
The long-term picture for heavy goods vehicles is more complex and the timescales and results will vary for each type of vehicle and company. Some will switch to hydrogen. Huw explained the issues with both green and blue hydrogen and some of the work done at Jaguar Land Rover and at JCB. Some local bus services are difficult to run financially while others have been converted to run on recycled waste products e.g., chip fat.
Rail. Electric trains use 1% of the total power generated by the national grid. However, 60% of our trains are powered by diesel. The rail network is adjusting to fewer people travelling to work at peak times since COVID. The UK has no rail electrification strategy and the latest new railway runs on diesel but we need to decarbonise the network by 2040.
Attempts to encourage Network Rail to electrify the section of track near Rye have been unsuccessful so far. Hence, there is disappointment that diesel trains continue to run on the Ashford to Eastbourne route. The UK spends £2.5 million pounds per kilometre of track to convert to electric power. Germany’s planned electrification program spends far less at £0.5 million per kilometre.
Eurostar trains not stopping at Ebbsfleet and Ashford cause further concern for locals trying to travel from Sussex across the Channel. Eurostar has told Huw that Dover is saturated and border staff are fully allocated. Huw would like to assign new border staff to Ebbsfleet and Ashford to facilitate reopening these international stations which, he believes, would then reduce the passenger burden at Dover.
Cycling. Huw is a keen cyclist and supports the need for better facilities for cyclists, cycle lanes and space on trains. He explained that Chris Boardman (Olympic champion) is assisting the UK Government on cycling provision. Huw is a supporter of e scooters and the trials for rental use.
Air. Flying has a very high carbon footprint. The weight of batteries means that electric aircraft produced so far operate in limited conditions and shorter distances only. “Sustainable” aviation fuels are being developed that may produce 80% less carbon emissions than existing aviation fuels but there is much more research and testing required. Industry produces approximately 100 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel per year. Estimates suggest this needs to be ramped up to 450 billion litres per year to meet future demand. Industry may need incentivising to help meet these challenging volumes.
Maritime. All maritime vessels should convert their engines to hydrogen for propulsion. We should be looking at green hydrogen and investing in a green infrastructure.
Summary. Huw explained he is very excited about the new technologies being developed to reduce our use of oil and gas and is optimistic that transport across the UK will meet its carbon reduction targets. We need to change our habits and make a modal change away from fossil fuel intensive modes of transport.
He explained a scenario of the future where a person wants to travel from their rural home to a town centre. The passenger would call up an autonomous, driverless, electric vehicle that would take the passenger to the nearest mass transit station to switch to bus or train to travel into the town.
Questions. Members of the audience were able to ask Huw a question. Some made statements and debated issues before asking their question which reduced the total questions asked. One statement included the surprising claim that electric cars are too heavy for AA/RAC breakdown vehicles to recover. Several wanted more cycle places on trains and more safe cycle routes. In answer to the question “how do we shift people’s behaviour?”, Huw suggests we should charge per mile travelled, and used the analogy of the introduction of the 5p charge for plastic bags at supermarkets which reduced new bags issued by 85%. A proposal to hold a national competition to reward the best innovation towards carbon neutral transport received widespread support in the hall.
Fracking. Huw concluded his talk by explaining his pragmatic view on fracking that may “lose the room”. If the UK is to continue to use fracked oil and gas, Huw prefers it is sourced from countries with good health and safety standards and good community support. Huw believes potential UK sources could meet these criteria – in contrast to some oversees sources where standards are much lower. The UK imports fracked gas from the USA which has a higher carbon footprint than more locally sources gas from The North Sea. His comments in favour of fracking drew polite groans from the audience before he bid a hasty farewell to a loud round of applause in appreciation of his attendance.
This is my recollection from memory of the talk together with further notes made by Dominic Manning and Polly Gray. I apologize for any omissions and any inaccuracies – Malcolm Turner (BEG).
The Rother Environmental Group and the Bexhill Environmental Group hosted a talk by our local MP Huw Merriman. 50 visitors attended the talk which was split into 2 sections. During the first 40 minutes, Huw explained some of the work done and the information accrued by the Transport Select Committee and some of its recommendations submitted to the UK Government. The second part involved 50 minutes of questions and answers.
Introduction. Huw’s talk began by splitting the major carbon emitters into sectors. Transport currently generates 24% of the UK carbon dioxide emissions and is the heaviest polluting sector in the UK. Other sectors that also emit large amounts of CO2 include: energy 21%, business 18%, agriculture 12%. Huw believes the UK Government has not done enough yet to decarbonise transport if we are to achieve net zero by 2050.
Road. The UK Government has identified the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric as an important step in decarbonising UK transport. Sales of new petrol and diesel and some hybrid cars will be banned in the UK from 2030. Drivers will be able to continue to drive, buy and sell second hand petrol and diesel cars beyond 2030. However, the number of these carbon emitting vehicles on our roads will reduce over time as old cars are scrapped etc.
Electric cars production is increasing by 76% and EVs took 11% of the UK car sales market in 2021. Electric or hybrid cars make up 2% of the vehicles on UK roads and this percentage is increasing. Huw recommends that manufacturers are incentivised to produce electric cars over other engine types. However, there are several factors limiting consumers from buying electric cars e.g., high initial cost, range anxiety, frequency of available working charging points, incompatible charging points and different software/apps and different pricing packages.
There are 34,000 public EV charging points installed across the UK and the Government has invested £1 billion to roll out new charging points. Fees to recharge at public points tend to be 60% to 75% higher than at private charge points installed at people’s homes. The Transport Select Committee forecasts that the UK will need between 200,000 and 9,000,000 public charging points after the year 2030. The committee has made many recommendations to the UK Government to help overcome public perceptions of electric cars. Huw suggests local authorities commission “Charging Champions” to check EV charging sites work in their region.
One third of UK households do not have access to off road parking so there is a need for a widespread network of publicly accessible EV charging points and to cater for long journeys. The first priority is to build new EV charging sites in heavy traffic areas and along motorways. Drivers that travel mostly in rural areas may have to wait longer until they have access to public charge points.
Most electric cars will be recharged from the national grid. However, only 40% of national electric supplies come from “green” sources e.g., wind, solar etc. This percentage will increase over the long term as polluting power stations are closed down. So electric cars will also have a carbon footprint albeit smaller than petrol and diesel. There is not enough electricity in the National Grid for us all to drive electric cars so we need to encourage other more sustainable forms of transport.
The Exchequer receives 4% of its tax revenues from motorists e.g., 70p per litre of fuel is tax. Total motoring taxes amount to approximately £35 billion per year but only about £7 billion is spent on roads while the rest is invested in schools, hospitals etc. As more motorists switch to electric vehicles from petrol and diesel, the tax income will reduce and will need to be replaced. A new system based upon when, where and how far travelled may result, perhaps using black box technology similar to that used by young drivers for reduced insurance rates.
The long-term picture for heavy goods vehicles is more complex and the timescales and results will vary for each type of vehicle and company. Some will switch to hydrogen. Huw explained the issues with both green and blue hydrogen and some of the work done at Jaguar Land Rover and at JCB. Some local bus services are difficult to run financially while others have been converted to run on recycled waste products e.g., chip fat.
Rail. Electric trains use 1% of the total power generated by the national grid. However, 60% of our trains are powered by diesel. The rail network is adjusting to fewer people travelling to work at peak times since COVID. The UK has no rail electrification strategy and the latest new railway runs on diesel but we need to decarbonise the network by 2040.
Attempts to encourage Network Rail to electrify the section of track near Rye have been unsuccessful so far. Hence, there is disappointment that diesel trains continue to run on the Ashford to Eastbourne route. The UK spends £2.5 million pounds per kilometre of track to convert to electric power. Germany’s planned electrification program spends far less at £0.5 million per kilometre.
Eurostar trains not stopping at Ebbsfleet and Ashford cause further concern for locals trying to travel from Sussex across the Channel. Eurostar has told Huw that Dover is saturated and border staff are fully allocated. Huw would like to assign new border staff to Ebbsfleet and Ashford to facilitate reopening these international stations which, he believes, would then reduce the passenger burden at Dover.
Cycling. Huw is a keen cyclist and supports the need for better facilities for cyclists, cycle lanes and space on trains. He explained that Chris Boardman (Olympic champion) is assisting the UK Government on cycling provision. Huw is a supporter of e scooters and the trials for rental use.
Air. Flying has a very high carbon footprint. The weight of batteries means that electric aircraft produced so far operate in limited conditions and shorter distances only. “Sustainable” aviation fuels are being developed that may produce 80% less carbon emissions than existing aviation fuels but there is much more research and testing required. Industry produces approximately 100 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel per year. Estimates suggest this needs to be ramped up to 450 billion litres per year to meet future demand. Industry may need incentivising to help meet these challenging volumes.
Maritime. All maritime vessels should convert their engines to hydrogen for propulsion. We should be looking at green hydrogen and investing in a green infrastructure.
Summary. Huw explained he is very excited about the new technologies being developed to reduce our use of oil and gas and is optimistic that transport across the UK will meet its carbon reduction targets. We need to change our habits and make a modal change away from fossil fuel intensive modes of transport.
He explained a scenario of the future where a person wants to travel from their rural home to a town centre. The passenger would call up an autonomous, driverless, electric vehicle that would take the passenger to the nearest mass transit station to switch to bus or train to travel into the town.
Questions. Members of the audience were able to ask Huw a question. Some made statements and debated issues before asking their question which reduced the total questions asked. One statement included the surprising claim that electric cars are too heavy for AA/RAC breakdown vehicles to recover. Several wanted more cycle places on trains and more safe cycle routes. In answer to the question “how do we shift people’s behaviour?”, Huw suggests we should charge per mile travelled, and used the analogy of the introduction of the 5p charge for plastic bags at supermarkets which reduced new bags issued by 85%. A proposal to hold a national competition to reward the best innovation towards carbon neutral transport received widespread support in the hall.
Fracking. Huw concluded his talk by explaining his pragmatic view on fracking that may “lose the room”. If the UK is to continue to use fracked oil and gas, Huw prefers it is sourced from countries with good health and safety standards and good community support. Huw believes potential UK sources could meet these criteria – in contrast to some oversees sources where standards are much lower. The UK imports fracked gas from the USA which has a higher carbon footprint than more locally sources gas from The North Sea. His comments in favour of fracking drew polite groans from the audience before he bid a hasty farewell to a loud round of applause in appreciation of his attendance.
This is my recollection from memory of the talk together with further notes made by Dominic Manning and Polly Gray. I apologize for any omissions and any inaccuracies – Malcolm Turner (BEG).