*Ireland face billions in climate fines as road hauliers accuse government of not implementing low hanging fruit transport measures to reduce CO2
The Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) President, Ger Hyland, described it as ironic that Ireland is on schedule to overshoot our 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target for transport, buildings, small industry, waste and agriculture by approximately 57%.
According to Mr. Hyland, Government were presented, in 2021, with five key actions that would decarbonise the transport industry significantly in Ireland and help to achieve our ambitious target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Hyland claims those actions were ignored.
“In July 2021, we were asked to feed into a ten year Transport Strategy for Ireland initiated by Ministers Hildegarde Naughton and Eamon Ryan. The transport sector has always acknowledged that we contribute approximately twenty percent to Ireland’s annual carbon emissions. We then presented government with five key actions, low hanging fruit, which were quickly deliverable, low cost and could lead to an immediate reduction in emissions from our transport sector. All were ignored. Now Ireland is facing into 26 billion in fines because different agencies of the state are not implementing simple key measures that can drastically reduce carbon emissions”
Ger Hyland laid out the five proposals to government at the time as follows,
1) Express HGV lanes at Tolls
Of the twelve toll stations in Ireland, eleven have barriers for HGV’s. Every time a HGV stops and starts at these barriers, they burn up to two litres of diesel. It is widely recognised that burning two litres of diesel creates approximately five kilos of carbon. 9,000 HGV’s pass though the Dublin Port Tunnel every day meaning we are creating 45,000 kgs or 45 tonnes of CO2 every day at the Port Tunnel alone just by requiring each HGV to stop at a barrier. The IRHA suggested that government and Transport Infrastructure Ireland make the tolls barrier free, as the M50 is, or simply allow HGVs to use express lanes. This suggestion was ignored.
2) Incentives to remove older HGV’s
Hauliers have to pay the same road tax, permit costs and tolls whether their HGV is from 1989 or 2025. The IRHA proposed that Government increase such costs on older HGVs whilst decreasing them on newer models. This would follow the polluter pays model and penalise older HGVs incentivising the purchase of the modern lower emission vehicles. To date, this suggestion has been ignored by government.
3) Support for the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO)
Modern Euro 6 HGVs are capable of running on 100% HVO which offers up to a 90% CO2 reduction. Excise taxes for HVO are the same for diesel, making HVO a more expensive option, disincentivising hauliers to make the switch to a cleaner, less polluting fuel. In Sweden, diesel includes a 24% inclusion rate of home-made HVO in all their diesel, with no tax applying to the HVO component, thereby having no negative effect on the price of diesel along with reducing their diesel imports by 24%.
4) 40 to 42 Tonnes on 5 axles reinstated
In 2016 Government introduced new restrictions on the weights of HGVs to comply with EU regulations. The weight restriction was reduced from 42 tonnes to a new limit of 40 tonnes. The French Government also lowered the weight limit to 40 tonnes but following a review by the French authorities on the impact this limit was having on their agricultural sector, they revised the limit upwards to 44 tonnes. Ireland’s restrictive weight limit of 40 tonnes on certain HGVs means more costs to hauliers, more journeys on our roads, and more CO2 emissions. The IRHA estimate that for Ireland’s milk collections alone, the new weight limits will lead to an additional 6 million kilometres to be covered by the same vehicles as before the limits came into force.
5) ECO driving training for all drivers
HGV drivers are required to undertake annual training sessions to ensure they are up to date on their driving skills. The IRHA proposed that Eco Driving be a part of this programme. The IRHA has developed an Eco Driving Training program with QQA Accreditation level 2. This would teach drivers how to save fuel and implement a range of other driving techniques that cut down on carbon emissions. Whilst this is happening in other member states in Europe, the RSA have not included eco driving in their annual driver training programme.
Mr. Hyland described the government’s inaction on these measures as extremely disappointing, “There are other measures that government agencies could implement to reduce carbon including improved traffic light sequencing, support for night time deliveries, increased opening times for our ports, and improved staggering of ferry crossings. All of which would improve transport efficiency and reduced road congestion, whilst drastically reducing emissions. The government just don’t seem interested in working with us to reduce emissions”
The haulage industry is acutely aware of their responsibilities to reduce CO2 emissions and have made solid proposals over many years within several different administrations which, to date, have been ignored.
Ger called for an immediate meeting with Government leaders to work to progress these climate measures as a means of hitting our ambitious climate targets whilst mitigating against future crippling climate fines.