Diesel-fuelled haulage sector ‘hard to abate’ amid lag in tech, says Environment Minister

As electric heavy goods vehicles remain too expensive or not capable of long distances for hauliers, the strategy seeks to encourage greener fuels until such a time when electrification can come on stream. Picture: Henadzi Pechan/iStock

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has said Ireland’s heavy goods haulage sector is “hard to abate” amid a lag in viable alternative technologies to diesel-fuelled engines.

Mr Ryan said that 99% of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in Ireland run on diesel and “alternative vehicle technologies have not, so far, developed as quickly as for cars, light goods freight, or even buses”.

Mr Ryan made the comments following months of consultations with industry stakeholders on the development of the country’s first 10-year haulage strategy, to be published on Thursday.

Decarbonisation strategy 

The strategy aims to tackle numerous issues for businesses such as widespread driver shortages, as well as managing its decarbonisation towards greener technology.

A large element of the strategy focuses on decarbonising the sector, which includes some 22,000 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which contributes to 38% of road transport emissions.

The Government has committed to a 50% reduction in carbon produced from transport by 2030. Mr Ryan said this will be a “huge challenge and one that will require transformative change across society and the economy”.

As electric heavy goods vehicles remain too expensive or not capable of long distances for hauliers, the strategy seeks to encourage greener fuels until such a time when electrification can come on stream. A target of 30% of new HGVs and bus sales will be zero emissions by 2030.

Data gathering will also be carried out to better understand deficiencies in the haulage system, particularly with regards to identifying empty cargo journeys. The Department of Finance will carry out a review of biofuel taxation to encourage its use.

Recruitment

In a bid to tackle critical driver shortages, the Government will use apprenticeships to attract younger and more diverse drivers, while also pursuing more license exchange agreements with non-EU countries.

An all-island strategic rail review is hoped to be concluded and published in the new year, which will plot out long-term ambitions on rail capacity and increased use of trains for haulage.

The strategy has been broadly welcomed by the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), in particular the establishment of a road freight forum to foster collaboration between Government, academics, and businesses.

However, IRHA President Eugene Drennan said he had a number of reservations about elements of the strategy. While he welcomed the commitment to invest in Ireland’s rail system, but he argued rail “doesn’t work over short distances and is too expensive”.

Additionally, he said the commitment to grant the Road Safety Authority (RSA) powers to allocate on-the-spot fixed penalty points was “an absolute no-go”, and claimed companies would “haemorrhage” drivers if RSA fines were not properly investigated before finalised.