Scheme to upgrade Welsh bus fleet could increase CO2 output
The Welsh Government is considering increasing the carbon dioxide emissions of the Welsh bus fleet – as part of its drive to cut carbon emissions by 2030.
It aims to “reduce the carbon footprint of taxis and buses to zero within 10 years”.
To achieve this, the Welsh Government is “considering providing financial incentives to meet the marginal cost of upgrading the public bus fleet to a minimum of Euro 6”. This would include retrofitting older buses to Euro 6 standard, and a scrappage scheme where older buses are replaced with Euro 6 vehicles.
However, buses meeting the Euro 6 standard – which reduces urban air pollution – emit more carbon dioxide (CO2) than buses achieving earlier standards.
The gaffe suggests that ministers and civil servants ignored a thinktank report on decarbonising transport which was published more than a fortnight before they released their consultation document on “Achieving Our Low-Carbon Pathway to 2030”.
The Institute of Welsh Affairs had warned in its report: “The Euro 6 actually emits more carbon than the Euro 4.” It continued: “If the Welsh Government is serious about delivering on its pledge of zero-carbon buses then the only real options are electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles.”
A 2014 report for the UK Government shows that Euro 6 buses in urban traffic conditions emit 2% more CO2 than Euro 4 buses.
One bus manager said Euro 6 buses consume more fuel than those meeting earlier standards. “You get better air quality but they burn more fuel.”
Tim Shallcross, head of technical policy at IAM RoadSmart, said the way diesel engines work meant there was a choice between reducing their emissions of toxins or of CO2. “You could argue that air quality is a more pressing problem at the moment because there are tens of thousands of premature deaths [from air pollution].”
Cutting both air pollution and carbon emissions would need non-diesel or hybrid buses, said Mr Shallcross, who lives in Powys.
The Welsh Government says its “financial incentives” may also encourage deployment of alternative bus propulsion technologies.
The Welsh Government has refused to provide any grants for green buses – while grants in England and Scotland resulted in hundreds of green buses and infrastructure such as fuelling facilities. Welsh bus managers say the lack of infrastructure prevents Wales from competing effectively for UK funding for low-emission buses – now open to Welsh applications.
The IWA report noted: “Of the 479 new buses financed in the latest grants from the UK Government Office of Low Emission Vehicles, only four were destined for Wales. And [those] four electric buses in Denbighshire have still not materialised.”
There is concern that the “financial incentives” could be further new conditions attached to government funding. Operators not meeting latest standards saw funding reduce, undermining some bus services’ viability.
If grants were provided for bringing buses up to Euro 6 standard, operators would also need an increase in revenue grant to cover the buses’ higher fuel consumption, one manager said. Otherwise “there would be a fare increase”.
A Wales Government spokesman said: “By involving stakeholders at the beginning of this process, it will help to shape our... thinking about some of the key areas that will help us reach our 2030 target... We have not yet assessed economic cost, emissions reduction potential or wider impacts.”