Policy Developments

OLEV announces winners of £38.2 innovation competition

Light-weighting technology taken from Formula 1 motor racing could soon be used in mainstream family cars after a consortium won a share of a £38.2 million research competition announced by OLEV this month.

LowCVP and Clean Air Alliance lead initiative to join up the climate change and air quality agendas

Reflecting the growing concern about the health effects of urban air pollution alongside renewed pressure for carbon reduction, the LowCVP and the Clean Air Alliance – working with other representatives of the air quality community – have announced an initiative to help make sure that transport actions to mitigate both problems are joined-up as effectively as possible.

Budget freezes fuel duty, extends company car BIK, capital allowances

The 2016 Budget contained some measures which will have an impact on UK low carbon transport. The Chancellor froze fuel duty for the sixth year in a row while announcing that the rates of car, van and motorcycle VED, Van Benefit Charge and van and car Fuel Benefit Charge are being raised in line with inflation. The Government will continue to support the uptake of zero and low emission vehicles through retaining the Van Benefit Charge for two more years and extending the first year allowance for business purchases of low emission cars for a further three years.

Climate Change News

Atmospheric CO2 levels rising at fastest rate for over half a century

Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have grown more in the last year than at any time in over half a century according to data measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

LowCVP News

Low Carbon Champions Awards 2016 call for nominations set to open

The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) will formally open its call for nominations to the 2016 Low Carbon Champions Awards in the week beginning 11 April. The Champions Awards celebrate organisations that have made a real difference in the area of low carbon road transport. There are seven Award categories, ranging from cars to innovation, from fuels to publications, and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner that will take place alongside Cenex’s Low Carbon Vehicle Event (Cenex-LCV) on Wednesday, 14 September 2016.

Reports & Studies

UK new car average C02 emissions fell 2.6% to a new low of 121.4g/km in 2015 says SMMT report

UK average new car CO2 emissions fell once again in 2015, to a new low of 121.4g/km according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) latest report. This was a 2.6% decline on 2014 (124.6g/km), a 32.9% fall on 2000 and a 26.4% decline since 2007. While the rate of progress is on par with the 2.6% averaged since 2000, SMMT says it does represent a further slowdown on the level reported just after the recession – with the average rate of improvement being 3.9% between 2008 and 2014.

Industry News

Daimler to manufacture electric and hydrogen buses

Daimler Bus, owners of Mercedes-Benz, have announced that the hydrogen fuelled Citaro F-CELL and pure electric Citaro E-CELL will be brought up to assembly line production standard, with the first buses expected to be in operation from 2018.

Events

'Oil Market Futures' - how climate policies will impact on future oil prices - 20/04/2016

New climate and energy policies are proliferating in the wake of commitments made at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference. Looking forward, this has significant implications. Implementing the Paris Agreement implies the roll out of global policies that will cut oil use. The 'Oil Market Futures' study by Cambridge Econometrics, ICCT and Poyry Consulting will provide the background for a debate on how climate policies will impact future oil prices.

European Bus Forum 2016 - 23/06/2016

The LowCVP's Managing Director Andy Eastlake is among the speakers at this year's European Bus Forum, which will be held in Manchester on June 23rd. Produced by Eurotransport and hosted by Transport for Greater Manchester, this one-day conference and gala dinner, offers opportunities for collaboration and networking. A 20% discount on delegate fees is available for LowCVP members.

GreenFleet Scotland 2016 - 15/04/2016

GreenFleet Scotland is the fleet event for Scotland, designed to demonstrate the viability of ultra-low emission, plug-in, hybrid and electric vehicles to organisations that want to improve the efficiency of their fleet and transport operations and to address poor air quality caused by emissions from road transport.

Future Fuels 2016: Automotive, Marine and Aviation - 26/04/2016

The links between CO2 from fossil fuels and global warming is firmly established, and the desire to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with transportation remains a key policy driver. This event will present an engineering view of how to ensure the ongoing reduction of C02 from the automotive world. (There are delegate fee discounts for LowCVP members.)

News-In-Brief