News / Time to move 'from words to action' to drive change, say transport unions

Photo: © Rafael Henrique | Dreamstime.com

The eve of COP28 finds the event beset by controversy before it has even begun, a BBC exposé claiming the event’s president, Dr Sultan al-Jaber, may use the climate conference as an cover and strike oil deals with 15 countries.

His position conflicts with the EU target of “a tangible phase-out of fossil fuels as soon as possible, to keep 1.5°C within reach, including by halting all new investments in fossil fuel extraction”, according to one European Parliament resolution.

It comes alongside news that the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have pledged to use their influence to drive a “just transition” in road transport.

“Transport operators and workers are co-designers of pragmatic solutions… training, skilling and re-skilling will all play a crucial role within the just transition,” said IRU secretary general Umberto de Pretto. “We call on governments to join us in creating a conducive environment for the road transport sector to efficiently and sustainably deliver on the Paris Agreement.”

ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton said governments needed to move “from words to action”. He added: “Transport workers globally are calling on governments to raise ambitions, ramp up investment in sustainable transport and deliver the plans we need across all transport sectors to secure our jobs, our climate and our future.”

Battery-electric trucks do not yet appear to have made the splash their proponents hoped, thanks to their enormous kerb weights, and low power density. But battery technology is not without the promise of improvement, especially with the world’s superpowers now racing to develop lighter, more energy-dense batteries with fewer costly rare earth metals.

Sweden, Germany and the UK are starting preliminary projects to install powerlines above motorways for trucks fitted with an extending pantograph to use, in the same way as electric-driven trains. This would allow road transport to fuel itself with easier-to-decarbonise grid power.

Other potential routes to decarbonisation in trucking have included hydrogen-powered vehicles, and thanks to their scale and operating profile, these may not share the same inefficiencies as hydrogen-powered private cars.

And though many European nations are banking on biodiesel as a bridging fuel, there are important questions on feedstock availability and feedstock priority. With limited options, airlines are already fighting over the small supply of actually-low-carbon biomass feedstock, and may already be being “conned” into purchasing ‘SAF’ made from virgin palm oil.

However, an eventual reduction in road transport, and a concomitant expansion of highly efficient rail freight, will be necessary for decarbonisation, according to almost every climate model. Various projects are under way, including in the UAE and neighbouring Saudi Arabia to construct electrified high-speed rail lines.

Earlier this year, The Loadstar reported on Etihad Rail, whose network is being used to link the ports of Abu Dhabi and Khalifa with Dubai’s Jebel Ali, and Sharjah.

The Loadstar’s coverage of COP28 is sponsored by EVERGREEN LINE: leading the development of a sustainable global container transportation system.

To find out more about EVERGREEN LINE’s sustainability strategy please click HERE.