What He Pou a Rangi report means for freight

THE HE POU A RANGI CLIMATE CHANGE COMMISSION’S REPORT SIGNALS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE WAY KIWIS GO ABOUT THEIR LIVES, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT HOW THE GOVERNMENT WILL GUIDE US TO OUR NEW ZERO-EMISSIONS DESTINATION BY 2050.

CALLING FOR “transformational and lasting change across society and the economy” in response to the climate crisis, the Commission found New Zealand will miss its emissions reduction targets if it doesn’t engage in “strong and decisive action now”. Therefore, the report recommended ambitious limits on the amount of greenhouse gases the country should be allowed to release over the next 15 years. Three new targets for the country were set: an average reduction of 2% each year between 2022 and 2025, 17% each year between 2025 and 2030 and 36% each year between 2030 and 2035.

“Our carbon dioxide emissions per capita are higher than the global average. Aotearoa has made less progress reducing carbon dioxide emissions compared to many other developed countries,” the report stated. “Since 1990, our carbon dioxide emissions have reduced by 5.2%. These reductions are slower than 32 out of 43 other Annex 1 countries.”

Annex 1 countries are defined as the industrialised countries that were members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1992 and countries with economies in transition including Russia, Scandinavia and several other European states. The report highlights our transport emissions per capita were high in 1990 and have remained high; at 3.4 tCO2 (total carbon dioxide) per person in 2018, our transport emissions per capita are higher than all but 4 of 43 Annex 1 countries.

While worldwide emissions intensity of transport increased substantially between 1990 and 2018, our transport emissions rose more than other developed countries. The Commission found that overall, New Zealand is no longer ahead of comparable countries in carbon dioxide emissions per capita as high transport emissions have more than offset low electricity emissions. “In 1990, Aotearoa was ranked 16th out of 43 Annex 1 countries for lowest carbon dioxide emissions per capita. In 2018, we had fallen to 25th out of 43, just below average.” That is just snapshot of the hundreds of pages the Commission released in its advice to the Government about what and how to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement targets. The Commission’s analysis shows that reducing transport emissions is crucial to meeting New Zealand’s emissions budgets and reaching net zero by 2050: this will have an immediate and lasting impact, the report states. Transport emissions made up 36.3 percent of total long-lived gases in 2018, which is 16.6 Mt CO2-e, with most transport emissions coming by way of fossil fuels used to power vehicles: petrol and diesel used by cars, SUVs and trucks (91%), domestic flights (7%) and rail and coastal shipping (2%). This means changing the way we travel and move goods; Kiwis should walk and cycle more and, more tellingly, freight will need to come off the road and onto rail and shipping. The Commission recommends an integrated national transport network to encourage greater public transport patronage, the wide adoption of electric vehicles, and the use of low carbon fuels such as biofuels and hydrogen needs to increase in heavy trucks, trains, planes, and ships. While tackling the “low hanging fruit” of decarbonising the country’s bus fleet by 2035 is a relatively easy initiative to achieve, it is a different story for the trucking industry, Road Transport Forum (RTF) Chief Executive Nick Leggett says. “The first thing to say is that, as an industry, we support the Government’s aim of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. It’s going to take myriad industries and individuals working together with government to even get close to that point.

BY JAMES PAUL

New Plymouth-based company Hiringa Energy is developing a nationwide green hydrogen refuelling network. Photo: Hiringa Energy

“We know that the technology to decarbonise buses is available and coming on strong – look at all the cities around the country running fully electric buses. However, it’s far less certain for heavy transport, particularly for line haul operators, because the distance travelled is so much greater. “That is exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure throughout the country’s transport routes. And should the infrastructure then be made available, outfitting trucks with batteries or the necessary charging apparatuses is likely to reduce businesses’ payloads.” RTF members include the Road Transport Association New Zealand, National Road Carriers, and the New Zealand Trucking Association.

The affiliated representation of RTF is about 3,000 individual transport companies which in turn operate between 16,000-18,000 truckers involved in road freight transport as well as companies that provide services allied to road freight transport. Employing about 53,000 people, representing 2% of the workforce, the road transport industry has a gross annual turnover of $6 billion and transports 70% of the New Zealand’s land-based freight every year, measured on a tonne/kilometre basis.

“For us, it’s about making incremental steps. That’s why the biofuel decision is positive. We might get a 3-4% emissions reduction throughout our diesel-using vehicles in our fleet. That’s meaningful, that’s practical, that’s real today. “It’s not some future projection based on technology that doesn’t work. And so, it’s the incremental, it’s preparing the industry, it’s the industry being sustainable in its business practices today to get meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions, and continuing that as the technology develops.” Another avenue that Mr Leggett suggests the Government could pursue is producing policy that incentivises the use of the Euro 6 standards for exhaust emissions, like that of the European Union’s sixth incarnation of the directive to reduce vehicle pollutants in both petrol and diesel cars. A more widespread use of the highest quality diesel engines would encourage businesses to replace their existing fleet with the best possible diesel emission engine on the market, he says. Methods such as fuel-efficient driving, better training around how to drive to reduce fuel consumption, better roads, and less congestion are all incremental changes that could contribute, too. The aim is to have efficient and effective movement of freight, and continue to improve that so we don’t let the economy slip and reduce people’s ability to earn a living throughout our country, he says. “If you look at the Climate Change Commission’s own estimates, they think we could get a modal shift of about 4 percent by 2030. While I think that’s ambitious, it is within the realm of possibility. But how many billions of dollars do we have to spend to get that? “Rail cannot, and will never be able to, deliver for New Zealand’s freight task. Rail is just not a contestable mode for doing most of what we need to do. It doesn’t back up to a farm gate, it doesn’t go to the supermarket, and those are the things that people have got to remember in this discussion.

“But people get very hung up on the means, and the means doesn’t exist for our portion of the transport industry at this point. Hopefully, they will emerge but, in the meantime, we’ve got some stuff that we can do to start that journey.” However, some in the private sector are following the Government’s lead in taking advantage of what they say is a gap in the market.

Take New Plymouth-based company Hiringa Energy for example; it is the first company in New Zealand dedicated to the supply of green hydrogen, and provide hydrogen solutions for the transport industry, the public sector, and transport operators. They are currently developing a nationwide green hydrogen refuelling network to offer a zero-emission fuel supply chain as a service for businesses and public transport operators across New Zealand.

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) combine air and hydrogen to make water and electricity, while using the same drivetrains as electric vehicles but have a smaller battery. Hydrogen storage is lighter than batteries so FCEVs carry more payload and drive further, and energy is stored as compressed hydrogen gas at 350 bar. Hiringa Public Sector Advisor, Dion Cowley, says decarbonising heavy transport and public transport using hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is “low hanging fruit”, and the technology to do so is available now. “New Zealand has excellent resources to generate green hydrogen right now and we see it playing a key role in New Zealand’s future energy mix. “We begin the introduction of our refuelling network to New Zealand later this year. Phase one of the network roll-out includes eight stations across the North and South Islands,” Mr Cowley says. “This ready to execute project will deliver the infrastructure to enable the adoption of zero emission fuel solutions that are operationally efficient, practical, sustainable and convenient.”

The company believes its hydrogen FCEVs can achieve range between 500-700kms, payload capabilities comparable to Euro 6 models and refuelling times as conventional vehicles.

Additionally, they believe their technology is carbon emissions-free, has reduced noise, and high performance with instant torque and acceleration, with no degradation. The Motor Industry Association (MIA) welcomed the report into required pathways to reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, stating it is a significant contribution to the debate and documents the challenge ahead for all New Zealanders. Chief Executive, David Crawford, says the MIA has stated on many occasions that it supports well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from New Zealand’s vehicle fleet.

“None of the policies suggested by the Climate Change Commission are unexpected other than the timelines for electric vehicle uptake and banning pure petrol or diesel vehicles. The task required to decarbonise our transport is monumental.” Dr Jean-Paul Thull – past senior academic and transport advisor – believes that decreasing carbon dioxide will benefit overall air quality but not necessarily change the climate as there is evidence of higher-thannormal temperatures in the past, prior to heavy industry. “Taking the debate about electric or Hydrogen power trains aside, decarbonisation can be embraced by applying external and internal accessibility planning principles. “We need a strong focus on reducing traffic congestion associated with modern vehicle technology and ensuring a mix of appropriate modes and intelligent transportation system including pricing models to our congested transport corridors in regard to external accessibility. “The toolbox for increased free flow can include options like introducing combined bus and heavy vehicle lanes, able to be used by private vehicles as a toll lane, shifting expensive sector public transport fares to time-based fares (e.g., 2 hours, 24 hours) and including public transport annual passes into salary packages by removing fringe benefit taxes.”