12 Logistics & Transport NZ
Marinus La Rooij (left) poses with Minister of Transport, Hon Michael Wood, at the Pathway launch of a fully-electric Fuso eCanter. Photos: Sustainability Business Council
Decarbonising the freight supply chain TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND MEET OUR INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS FOR CLIMATE ACTION, NEW ZEALAND MUST ACHIEVE NET ZERO EMISSIONS BY 2050. BY MARINUS LA ROOIJ While this is challenging enough for most parts of the transport system, decarbonising the freight system has its own specific and significant challenges. As we embark on this work, we must be mindful that decarbonisation solutions for other parts of the transport system do not translate well into the freight system.
Freight volumes are growing and the system that supports it is complex Our freight system is complex and expanding as the flow of goods increases to meet the needs of our growing population and economy. These are all the goods we buy and sell every day, their movement critical for our economic and social wellbeing.
To give a sense of the scale, each year we move an estimated 280 million tonnes of freight or 30.6 billion tonne-kilometres of travel. Around 70 per cent of this freight is moved by road transport using around 800,000 vehicles that travel over 3 billion kilometres a year. That equates to around 50 tonnes of freight, and 600 kilometres of truck travel, for every New Zealander, every year. Our freight volumes are also forecast to increase 30 per cent by 2042. The whole system is underpinned by the internal combustion engine (ICE) using fossil fuels (predominantly diesel). The current system is cost effective (ignoring externalities), reliable and proven to deliver
on the customer requirements at the heart of the system – having their freight delivered in full, on time and at low cost. But the use of ICE vehicles cannot continue as freight transport is a key contributor to New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Freight is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and growing Current emissions from freight movements are around one third of the emissions generated by the wider transport system, which makes up around 47 per cent of New Zealand’s total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Climate Change Commission estimates that this equates to 4 million tonnes of emitted CO2 each year, which is forecast to grow to 5.5 million tonnes
