Zemo argues case for renewable fuels in meeting climate targets

A new study from Zemo Partnership shows that renewable fuels offer the immediate potential to cut road transport emissions, and argues that transport policy should be more directly informed by vehicle life cycle GHG emissions data, and not focused solely on mitigating tailpipe emissions.

The UK needs to cut GHG emissions from surface transport by almost 100 million tonnes by 2035, extending to around 136 million tonnes by 2050. Zemo Partnership argues that a portfolio of approaches will be needed to reduce emissions  at the scale necessary within this timeframe, and the earlier emissions reductions are made, the greater their impact in terms of limiting climate heating.
 
Zemo analysis shows that in all vehicle segments modelled, renewable fuels offer significant GHG emissions savings when compared with conventional, predominantly fossil-content fuels. Some renewable fuels applications show greater life cycle GHG emissions savings than current battery electric vehicles using grid electricity, though rapid decarbonisation of UK power supplies will continue to shift the balance in favour of electrification over time.
 
The analysis shows that a one-size-fits-all approach to road vehicle applications is unlikely to be the optimal solution to road transport decarbonisation, at least in the short to medium-term.
 
The study authors recommend that transport policy and legislation should be more directly informed by vehicle life cycle GHG emissions data, and not focused solely on mitigating tailpipe emissions.
 
Organisations developing their fleet decarbonisation strategies should also consider vehicle life cycle GHG emissions. In some circumstances, renewable fuels can achieve greater GHG emissions savings for the available budget than battery electric vehicles.
 
Operators of electric vehicles should also consider the size and capacity of the batteries used in their vehicles and optimise these depending on the use case. Larger, heavier batteries offer improved vehicle range, but emit more GHG emissions during production, increase vehicle consumption and may also reduce payload capacity.
 
Report co-author and Zemo’s Head of Sustainability, Gloria Esposito, said: “Zemo’s study elegantly demonstrates the importance of life cycle GHG emission analysis in fairly comparing different powertrain technologies and renewable fuels against today’s fossil fuel counterparts.  Our work shows the significant contribution renewable fuels can continue to make towards reducing road transport GHG emissions. In particular, quick wins are available to the UK HGV fleet sector today.
 
“Transport policy has to rapidly evolve to embrace life cycle GHG emissions metrics. This is imperative to safeguard against unintended consequences and to enable a broader range of technology options to be recognised as viable candidates for decarbonising transport.”