Responsible Road Transport: Fuelling the Challenge

Thank you for inviting me to join you all here this evening.

As the title of tonight’s seminar suggests, we are here to discuss some of the issues that are likely to affect transport policy in the future and work out how to meet these challenges in a responsible way.

The event could hardly have been better timed.

The whole concept of trying to create a more sustainable transport future seems to be splashed over the newspapers and specialist press almost every day.

Whether it’s biofuels, emissions trading, eco-safe driving or low carbon vehicle technologies, there is no question that this is an issue that is generating a lot of heat.

That may make my life as transport minister a bit hectic from time to time. But personally, I believe this is great news.

There are real and pressing issues that we as a nation have to face up to… on congestion… on climate change… and on energy security.

And without a really open, honest debate on the key issues, we will simply drift aimlessly into a crisis of our own making.

Indeed, it probably won’t even be us that suffer that much – it will be our children and the generations that follow that will have to pay the price if we don’t act today.

I, for one, do not wish that to be my legacy.

So what do we do about it?

Thankfully, there are lots of things we can – and that we are – doing about it.

Currently, we are looking to bring aviation into the emissions trading regime.

We are also working closely with the maritime sector to reduce its environmental footprint.

And inevitably, we are looking at land transport – particularly tackling congestion and introducing new low carbon vehicle technologies as exemplified by the Scania bus we saw earlier.

In fact, we are looking at every aspect of the transport network to see where we can practically and effectively cut emissions and minimise environmental impacts.

For me, one of the key things to remember is that anything we do has to be viewed in a wider context.

For example, there is no point in trying to persuade people to leave their cars at home if we don’t offer them practical alternatives for their journey.

That means investing heavily in public transport and developing schemes that encourage people to walk or use their bikes.

Equally, it makes no sense to introduce measures that will curb transport volumes if that comes at the expense of economic competitiveness, leaving millions idle and the country in poverty.

And of course, there is no point in introducing regulations that benefit the environment here in Britain if that means wreaking devastation on the forests of South America or Southeast Asia.

That last point is one that I’ve been hammering away at on biofuels for years now.

My position on this has been clear and consistent throughout – put simply, there is absolutely no point in pursuing biofuels if they are not sustainable.

It was a point we made back in 2004 when we set a relatively cautious target for biofuel sales under the EU’s Biofuels Directive.

And it is a point that the Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander, reiterated on Thursday when he announced a consultation on the environmental reporting mechanisms that underpin the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation.

This is a vital first step on the road to linking the issue of RTFO certificates with mandatory carbon saving and sustainability requirements.

Under this regime, biofuels will only used if they deliver genuine environmental benefits.

And I believe it is a policy that puts the UK at the forefront of international efforts to tackle this issue.

We want to make absolutely sure that the RTFO only rewards biofuels…

… (a)… if they generate real carbon savings…

… and (b)… if the feedstocks meet the appropriate sustainability standards.

And I believe that the groundwork we are preparing now will help form the foundations for any future sustainability criteria agreed at either EU or WTO level.

This is too important to get wrong.

The RTFO will ensure that 5% of the road transport fuel used in the UK comes from biofuels by 2010.

That means we will have created an annual market for 2.5 billion litres of biofuels.

It will also remove around a million tonnes of carbon from the UK’s emissions each year – the equivalent of taking a million cars off the road.

I hope that will be just the start.

But I say again, sustainability remains firmly at the core of this Government’s policy on biofuels – now, and in the future.

In any debate about the environment and transport, we will always come back to the issue of how we power vehicles and how we cut emissions.

Biofuels will play a part, but there are plenty of other technologies that will contribute as well.

We are encouraged by EC proposals to establish mandatory targets for car fuel efficiency - setting out an ambition to achieve an average 130 grammes of CO2 per kilometre by 2012.

Obviously, there has to be a clear understanding over how the target will be implemented and a subsequent impact assessment.

But subject to this caveat, the Government supports a move to demanding mandatory fuel efficiency targets for new cars. We look forward to discussing the detail of how this will be implemented with the Commission.

Euro standards are also one of the most cost-effective means of meeting our air quality objectives.

The recently agreed light duty Euro 5 and 6 standards will make a major contribution to improving air quality.

But securing tighter heavy duty standards at Euro VI will also be necessary.

We’re still looking into the details of the latest proposals, but I think it’s clear to everyone here tonight where the trends are heading.

The UK remains an active proponent of practical policies that lead to fewer emissions and better air quality.

Technology also has a key role to play under the local road pricing schemes we highlighted in the Draft Local Transport Bill recently.

I have to be clear here – there is no government commitment to a national road pricing scheme at this stage.

But these local initiatives will help us define and test some of the concepts and technologies that are being developed to deal with demand management.

If our roads do become gridlocked – this is an issue that Britain will have to face up to.

Let’s not forget though – the Local Transport Bill is about much more than just local road pricing schemes.

A key element of the draft Bill is to tackle congestion by persuading people to look at alternatives to the car.

And since two thirds of all local transport journeys are made by bus, it obviously makes sense that this Bill looks closely at boosting bus patronage.

To achieve this, we plan to give local authorities a range of powers to improve the quality of local bus services and promote more effective partnerships between local authorities and bus operators.

As part of that, we want to make 'quality contracts' a realistic option in areas where it is in the public interest for local authorities to take greater control over bus services.

In this way, they would be able to specify bus networks, timetables and fares in those areas.

We are also talking to stakeholders about whether changes to the current bus subsidy regime would increase their contribution to our objectives on the environment, congestion and accessibility.

Again, it is about looking at transport as an integrated network – we have to be aiming at complementary solutions wherever we can.

As we look forward, it’s quite likely that some of the solutions we will eventually implement may not even have been invented yet.

We simply cannot envisage all of the technology that may some day help us tackle congestion and curb emissions.

Someone could be dreaming it up in their garden shed as I speak.

If they are, the government has set up the Innovation Platform to help fund the research and development that will be needed to help turn these concepts into reality and bring them to the market.

Tackling congestion and meeting the carbon challenge is not going to be achieved overnight.

But we’ve set our course and we’re in it for the long haul.

It will mean utilising technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and second generation biofuels.

It will mean encouraging people to make sustainable transport choices and increase the use of public transport.

Someday, it could even mean looking at radical new ideas such as taking emissions trading down to the personal consumer level.

The truth is we can’t say exactly how it might operate. But we do know that we have to find ways to make transport smarter and more sustainable.

And I hope that everyone here tonight can play their part in fuelling that journey into the future.

Delivered: 26 June 2007

(This speech represented existing departmental policy but the words may not have been the same as those used by the Minister.)