Industry association NatRoad is fighting to make it easier for small freight businesses to access the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU).
In a recent submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy and Water’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, argues there are currently a number of barriers preventing smaller road freight operators from participating in the available ACCU schemes.
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“About 98 per cent of the road freight industry consists of small businesses, and in most cases the current system is too costly, time consuming, and complicated for them to participate,” NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says.
“There are a number of opportunities to improve access to government financial incentives and increase the overall rate of industry participation in decarbonising schemes for these operators.”
The barriers NatRoad outlines in its submission include prohibitive compliance requirements and administrative costs, complex calculation methods, and uncertainty around fuel savings.
“The road transport industry is ready to adapt and comply with carbon emissions management and reporting, plus customer expectations, driving the transition to lower carbon-emitting ways of operating, but we need improvements to ensure as many road transport businesses can participate as possible,” Clark says.
NatRoad’s recommendations to better support participation from smaller operators include:
- Enabling businesses to access the full financial benefits at the start of a project (rather than having to wait years as is currently the case)
- Increasing crediting periods from 7 to 10 years so fleets can commit to a decarbonisation plan over several vehicle replacement cycles
- Providing validation tools to help businesses estimate and verify emissions reductions
streamlining complicated administrative processes, and - Including calculation methods reflecting real-world conditions for smaller road freight operators.
“To get the greatest benefit from decarbonisation initiatives like the ACCC scheme we need to maximise participation. Removing these barriers for smaller operators to take part will contribute to that aim.
“The challenge for the road transport industry is that energy and emissions savings are variable, so the industry needs a variety of incentives to appeal to different kinds of organisations, fleet sizes, applications and decarbonisation pathways.”
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