Research and analysis

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road freight

2017 review on how the government will support the freight industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the barriers that might stop them.

From:
Department for Transport
Published
10 February 2017

Documents

Freight Carbon Review 2017

PDF, 1.65 MB, 96 pages

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Details

Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are estimated to account for around 17% of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from road transport and around 21% of road transport NOₓ emissions, while making up just 5% of vehicle miles. Meeting our climate change targets will require GHG emissions reductions across all sectors of the economy, including road freight. The government is also committed to improving UK air quality.

This report:

  • sets out key findings from the ‘Freight carbon review’, which brings together evidence on the opportunities for and barriers to reducing road freight GHG emissions
  • identifies a range of government and industry-led emissions reduction options
  • outlines a number of measures that the government will put in place to support the road freight industry in reducing GHG emissions from the sector

The ‘Freight carbon review’ lays the groundwork upon which the government will build to determine how we will achieve further GHG emissions savings out to the 2030s and beyond.

This work will inform the government’s ‘Emissions reduction plan’, which will set out how we will reduce GHG emissions through the 2020s. It will also support the development of further measures on air quality under our forthcoming Air quality plan.

Supporting research

Department for Transport commissioned independent research to inform the Freight carbon review. This reserach is the:

  • TRL’s Freight industry collaboration study considered the role of freight industry collaboration in reducing GHG emissions from the sector.
  • AECOM’s Eco-driving for HGVs study considered opportunities for and barriers to uptake of efficient driving training within the road freight sector.
  • Transport Systems Catapult report to understand why uptake of Urban Consolidation Centres has been low and what can be done to encourage greater adoption amongst public sector organisations.
Published 10 February 2017