On 11 September RHA invited transport leaders to its 2025 Future Forum in Birmingham to discuss issues facing the haulage and coach sectors — with one speaker calling for a complete reset in thinking on decarbonisation.
The Forum, the first of a new recurring annual event, addressed three main challenges for the industry: rising carbon emissions, developments in artificial intelligence, and recruitment. In an opening address, industry stalwart Ian Jones noted that consensus on all is muddied by a lack of clear policy.
That was made clear in a presentation by Geoff Potter, Managing Director at Gray and Adams, who says there needs to be a reset in thinking and a “technology neutral” approach when it comes to decarbonisation. He believes current legislative proposals are “founded on two myths”: that battery-electric vehicles are zero-emission, and that batteries are the only route to decarbonisation.
Mr Potter says the current push for batteries is being driven by “political correctness” and media pressure, not practical reality, and that battery gains are offset by increased non-exhaust emissions (such as tyres, brakes and road wear) due to vehicle weight, with the outcome being a “draw” with modern ICEs. He cited Polestar’s life cycle assessment (LCA) report and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) figures to imply a push for battery electric creates a poor return on investment compared to total impact on the atmosphere.
“Transport policy should be informed by vehicle life cycle emissions, not tailpipe emissions,” he says. “Battery vehicles are not zero-emission. Government legislation only covers tailpipe (emissions), not manufacturing and disposal emissions. That is illogical. If we are honest and serious with decarbonisation, we need to look at all aspects of emissions and press the government for a reset of thinking, stop talking about enforcement, and petition government to abandon the legislative drive and embrace a technology neutral pathway.”
But Mr Potter’s presentation drew criticism, notably from Sam Clarke, Chief Vehicle Officer at Gridserve Sustainable Energy, and lead on the government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, who says much of the cited data, include the LCA, has been disproven. “I don’t object in any way to a balanced view, but it’s hugely disappointing to listen to opinions founded on publicly inaccurate data,” he says. “There is inevitably a challenge out there that needs to be overcome, but we must have a lens of practical understanding to address it. Scaremongering encourages us to do nothing. You need people to start something and see it grow; the more negative rhetoric there is, the harder it is for people like me to make that happen.”
A lack of consensus was backed up by industry surveys. According to research undertaken before the event, 75% of coach operators have “no immediate plans” to decarbonise. But a questionnaire on the day showed only 50% of delegates see decarbonisation as core to the future of their business. 45% say net zero efforts are focused on fleet decarbonisation, and 52% say investment in net zero is being driven by customer demand. 31% say they are being encouraged via financial grants and incentives.
RHA Coaches Chair Richard Bamber welcomes both sides of the debate, as it acknowledges that there are still those who need to be convinced onto a certain pathway. “One thing I see increasingly now among haulage firms and coach operators is apathy. Many are beginning to feel that what will be will be; that whatever we take to MPs means little when the government has its own agenda and will follow that agenda regardless.
“There are no definitive answers right now and we need to encourage this kind of debate. Technology and infrastructure are still the overriding matters. We’re still no further resolved and that is the key issue.”
Richard Smith, RHA Managing Director, acknowledges that lack of consensus, saying the industry “needs a pathway” whether it be to decarbonisation, integration of AI or the next generation of drivers.
