CEAC warns that use of trucks with biodiesel will cause far more damage to environment than using electric trucks, overseas studies have found that production of biofuels for use in diesel truck engines will speed up the climate change, not slow it down as is depicted here from University of Waikato Troy Baisden, Professor (Environmental Sciences), University of Waikato.

Growing, transporting and producing biofuels would have some visible impacts, just as today’s fossil fuel production has a footprint that includes mining, drilling, refining, storage and transport. Depending on the location, new forests might change local landscapes and economies, with specific effects such as lower river flows.

In 2018, Scion estimated that converting 30% of transport fuel to biofuel would require an area three times the size of Stewart Island and use 55 truckloads per hour.

The idea of a biofuel economy is both fascinating and uncertain because it could have dramatic effects on land use, across large areas, with potential benefits such as reduced nitrate leaching or erosion.

Future environmental effects are hard to predict because biofuel technologies are still developing, and the future costs of energy and emissions are uncertain. But so are the costs and benefits of many alternatives.

Ideas and debate continue to develop regarding the use of hydrogen as a fuel, either in transport or to augment batteries, if efficiency can be improved, or for combustion where it could even be added to natural gas. But hydrogen is only green if it is produced with clean, renewable power.

Troy Baisden, Professor (Environmental Sciences), University of Waikato

CEAC instead has chosen to support the Labour Government new plans on “Electrification of Heavy Trucks” Rollout here.

We advocated to Government strongly just weeks ago in our last press release.

Offering the road freight industry a subsidy to switch reluctant operators of heavy freight trucks, to electric trucks, and further reduce the other half of the remaining (ICE) internal combustion engine fleet to use rail instead.

Wins cannot be made by using Biofuels as explained here right now, to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from road freight transport.

Clearly instead we must switch back to use “low carbon emission rail freight “as it is a sure winner here’ and the world is switching back to rail, so must we.

We will then have a ‘true clean low emissions road freight truck fleet’ to go forward now rather than later till it is to late, to protect our future generations and our environment together.

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