More money should be made available for investment in rail and water freight and lorries should be charged to use the roads if the government is to meet its targets for cutting CO2 emissions from transport.
According to Campaign for Better Transport, freight transport accounts for more than a third of the UK's transport CO2 emissions - 23% of the total comes from HGVs, 12% from vans and 1% from rail freight.
In a report
that also touches on commuting and air travel, Campaign for Better Transport says small hauliers should be helped with maintenance and training and grants should be increased to remove bottlenecks in the rail and water freight networks.
In the longer-term, the organisation suggests road charging for lorries would improve efficiencies, while van operators should be encouraged to use cleaner vehicles and drivers should be trained in fuel-efficient driving methods.
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