Heathrow announces tough emissions policy - Chambers and Cook
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) is the body that provides independent advice climate change to government, providing recommendations for future policy. In the latest “Net Zero – Technical Report” the CCC recommended that a number of targets be made more ambitious, leading to the UK’s emissions falling to ‘net zero’ by 2050.
Significantly for members, the report recommends that for this target to be achieved, the emissions from road transport must fall to near zero by 2050. There are two suggested approaches by the CCC that impact vehicle operations. Firstly, a ban on petrol and diesel car sales should be brought forward to between 2030 and 2035. Secondly, that all Heavy Duty Vehicles in the UK should shift to zero emission technology by 2050. Both of these objectives will require considerable changes to an organisation’s fleet, forward planning for effective implementation of changes to fleets (taking account of existing vehicle life cycles) and investment in infrastructure for the vehicles by both private and public organisations. All organisations should expect government and local authority legislation to follow to support implementation of these targets
Also, Heathrow has announced it is getting ready to introduce a set of tough new measures to protect local air quality, reduce congestion and tackle emissions, as the airport continues to use its scale to help solve environmental challenges.
The UK’s only hub airport is putting plans in motion to introduce charges for passenger cars and all private hire vehicles. This includes the world’s first airport Ultra Low Emission Zone (the Heathrow ULEZ), set to be introduced in 2022. The Heathrow ULEZ will introduce minimum vehicle emissions standards identical to the London Mayor’s ULEZ for passenger cars and private hire vehicles entering car parks or drop-off areas at any of Heathrow’s terminals, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over time with the opening of the new runway from 2026 and improvements to public transport access to the airport, the Heathrow ULEZ will transition into a vehicle access charge (VAC) on all passenger cars, taxis and private hire vehicles coming to car parks or drop-off areas. The goal is to tackle the main source of local air pollution – road vehicles – and reduce congestion by encouraging more people to use sustainable ways of getting to and from the airport.
Source: BIFA
