GOVERNMENT bodies must work with industry in order to reach targets set by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). That’s according to Gerard Galvin, Managing Director of ETRUX, commercial vehicle specialists that assist organisations transition their fleets to zero carbon.
Gerard Galvin said: “Public sector organisations and agencies must fully engage with the private sector if we are to push forward with legislated net-zero targets. Time is of the essence, and we must be ambitious in our plans and policies. The challenge to reach our net-zero target is significant but working together we have a much better chance of meeting these ambitious goals.”
His comments come in response to the Climate Change Committee’s recent report (issued 2 March) stating essential new policy requirements are needed in order to meet the 2030 and 2040 interim targets and, ultimately, reach net-zero goals.
In 2022, Northern Ireland legislated a legal target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The CCC’s report highlighted the risk of missing these targets even if the radical actions they have recommended are adopted. One of the requirements mentioned in the updated ‘Balanced Pathway’ document was that all new car and van sales will be zero-emission within ten years.
Gerard Galvin, Managing Director of ETRUX, responded: “The next few years are vital in making the leap to zero-emission vehicles, but there needs to be a more concerted effort by everyone and a top-down policy to support the transition if we are to meet the requirement for all new car and van sales to be zero-emission by the first half of 2030s.”
Gerard Galvin’s statement coincides with the UK’s Decarbonising Transport Week, which sees experts, policy makers, industry leaders and politicians coming together to discuss solutions in the transition to a low carbon transport network.