News

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called for the freight industry to focus its lobbying on carbon emissions, rather than just fuel duty.

Speaking at the FTA's Cutting Carbon, Cutting Costs conference last week, James Hookham, policy and communications director for the FTA, said the industry needs to put together a coherent alternative to fuel duty, which ties in with the climate change  agenda, instead of tackling the tax head-on.

"We need to find another way forward and present a carbon-management plan," he said. "We have to come up with a plan B, which is seen as a more effective way of reducing carbon emissions than what [the government] is already doing. If plan A is to tax us into submission, the only way forwards is plan B."

Hookham suggests that as an alternative to fuel duty, the industry could propose a carbon-reduction obligation be included in the O-licence.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) welcomed the FTA's stance. "Anything that highlights what a clean and efficient industry this is has got to be good news," says Kate Gibbs, RHA head of communications.

The haulage industry can expect a range of legislation on reducing and measuring emissions in the coming years. Voluntary reporting of carbon emissions will be launched by Defra  in October this year, while regulations will be in place for compulsory reporting by 2012.

The government introduced the Climate Change Act in 2008, which commits the UK to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.

Hookham called for transport firms to volunteer to become part of a pilot community to establish a baseline for carbon emissions, share ideas on carbon accounting standards and promote the industry's carbon efficiency credentials.

"One of the great opportunities is that CO2 is relatively stable compared to economic growth. The industry needs to get credit for the savings it is already making."