Local, National, Global Action To Promote Decarbonisation

From local proposals to assist industry on its decarbonisation journey, to CBA’s national initiative to offer discount rates to fund ‘green’ investment, to global action focused on promoting ZEV uptake, the past week or so has seen a flurry of activity on the decarbonisation front

The past few weeks has seen a series of announcements aimed at promoting decarbonisation of the road freight transport industry.

Victoria

Followings its Freight Industry Decarbonisation Summit in Melbourne on October 26, Freight Victoria has wasted no time in nominating a series of proposed government actions that will assist the industry on its decarbonisation journey.

The full list of proposed actions is available online, and those relevant to HVIA’s members are summarised below.

Policy

• Work with other states to ensure policy objectives are consistent, including for technology specifications, fuel standards and pricing;
• Collaborate with other states to explore green financing initiatives to increase access to capital; and
• Work with the Australian Government to improve the interoperability of technology.

Technology

• Assess network infrastructure readiness and determine the required enhancements to support heavier low and zero-emission vehicles;
• Identify and facilitate support for required upskilling and training to operate and maintain new technologies; and
• Explore levers for fuel and vehicle standards.

Network optimisation

• Identify optimal locations for shared charging facilities and ensure relevant planning permissions are fit for purpose; and
• Develop an understanding of how low-emissions zones can benefit emissions and uptake of zero-emission technologies and how they can be consistently implemented.

Freight Victoria is seeking further feedback from industry and stakeholders on all proposed actions, and has developed a public survey that will be open to January 5, 2024. The survey is available here.

National

To assist businesses in their journey to net zero, Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is offering businesses a discounted finance rate to fund investment in green vehicles and equipment that cover 100 per cent of the purchase price and supporting infrastructure such as chargers and batteries.

CBA’s Green Vehicle and Equipment Finance offers discounts for businesses wanting to upgrade to new and used electric or hydrogen-powered cars, trucks, vans or buses.

It also includes discounts for assets such as electric and hydrogen-powered machinery; solar-, wind- and hydro-powered equipment; and charging and storage equipment.

Specifically, CBA is offering up to one per cent per annum discount off the standard rate for new and used electric and hydrogen driven cars, vans, trucks and buses up to $250,000.

It is also offering up to 0.50 per cent per annum discount on a wide range of other qualifying assets up to $250,000, including: electric and hydrogen driven machinery’ solar, wind and hydro powered equipment; charging and storage equipment including batteries; and retrofitting/conversion costs to electrify vehicles and equipment.

For details and fine print, visit here.

Global

Internationally, COP28 has dominated headlines in the global net zero space lately, and this year’s meeting was held in the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 80,000 representatives from business, government, science and civil society met in Dubai to take a global stocktake and identify where collective progress is being made.

COP – the Conference of the Parties to the Convention – is essentially the United Nations conference on climate change and is where the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016. The Paris Agreement saw nations collectively agree on action to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, and to act to adapt to the already existing effects of climate change.

The role of transport and the built environment featured at COP28 as part of a larger thematic focused on urbanisation and the built environment.

There was an emphasis on transport’s relationship to energy, industry and just transition, as well as shining a light on last-mile delivery for urban freight and COP28 representatives urged a three per cent annual cut in transport CO2 emissions.

Specifically, a multi-level ministerial roundtable on the Road Transport Breakthrough was convened by the UK, US, India, and the Breakthrough Agenda.

The Road Transport Breakthrough is a global initiative that aims to make zero-emission vehicles the new normal by making them accessible, affordable, and sustainable in all regions by 2030.

The initiative recommends governments agree on a timeline by which all new road vehicle sales should be zero-emission, with interim targets for countries taking into account their level of economic development and ability to scale up infrastructure.

At the Land Transport Roundtable more than 70 participants stressed the importance of integrating transport in the decarbonisation journey, highlighting the role of key enablers such as policy, finance, infrastructure, technology, and balancing supply and demand.

Several players, including Colombia, Rotterdam, RTA Dubai, among others, announced concrete projects, including the expansion of their public transport network as well as new sustainable transport strategies.