Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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59. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the actions and initiatives undertaken by his Department to assist the freight industry in reducing emissions. [30205/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland’s Road Haulage Strategy, which was published in December 2022, provides a roadmap on how the Government is supporting the road freight sector to decarbonise and meet the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan.

The Irish road freight sector is almost exclusively fuelled by diesel currently, and while decarbonisation will be a significant challenge for the sector over the medium term to 2030 and beyond, the Department is hearing positive news and signalling from vehicle manufacturers regarding the supply of alternatively fuelled vehicles. These commitments by industry must be encouraged and supported with the right mix of policy and regulatory measures by Governments to ensure we reach our climate objectives over the next decade.

In November 2022 Ireland joined like-minded states in signing a Global Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Zero-Emission Medium and Heavy-duty vehicles. This MOU aims at achieving a minimum of 30 percent of all new sales of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (including buses and trucks) to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040.

The Alternatively Fuelled Heavy-Duty Vehicle (‘AFHDV’) Purchase Grant Scheme supports and promotes the decarbonisation of the heavy-duty sector to transition from vehicles fuelled by fossil fuels. The Scheme supports the purchase of new large commercial vehicles by bridging some of the price difference between conventional heavy-duty vehicles and alternatively fuelled vehicles, which offer environmental benefits. The Scheme is once again funded in 2023, with €5 million being made available. In addition, Ireland has the Low Emission Vehicle Toll Incentive or ‘LEVTI’ Scheme, which offers toll discounts for alternatively fuelled vehicles.

A critical element in supporting the transition will be the provision of charging infrastructure for Heavy-duty vehicles. In order to enable the delivery of this infrastructure, the Zero Emissions Vehicles Ireland office will work with stakeholders to develop a National EV Charging Network Plan for HDVs.

As a transitional measure, increasing the blend of biodiesel in the national fuel mix will provide a level of emissions savings from the existing fleet. Under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation Scheme, which is administered by the National Oil Reserves Agency (‘NORA’), there is an obligation on suppliers of mineral oil to ensure that a percentage of the motor fuel they place on the market in Ireland is produced from renewable sources. For diesel vehicles, the current fuel blend available at garage forecourts is approximately 7% biodiesel. It is the Department’s intention to raise this percentage to 20% biodiesel by 2030, a move which will help to significantly reduce emissions from the Road Freight sector.

Additionally, Eco-Driver training, which trains drivers to operate their vehicles in a safer and more eco-friendly manner, will be important in promoting decarbonisation in the road freight sector. This training, which has been proven to lead to a significant reduction in fuel consumption and related carbon emissions, not only benefits the environment, but it also generates cost savings and improved efficiencies for road freight operators as well as improved road safety. My Department is currently working towards establishing a national standard for eco-driving courses and will analyse what incentives and measures could be introduced to increase the number of drivers undertaking available courses.

Further transitional measures which are including in the Road Haulage Strategy, and will be critical to the decarbonisation of the sector, are the promotion digital and operational efficiencies such as load sharing and a study to establish the potential for logistics consolidation hubs.

The combination of these measures will assist in addressing the challenges facing the sector in achieving more sustainable operations and reducing emissions.