COP26: Time to deliver change

By Volta Trucks

With the UN’s climate change conference (COP26) fast approaching in Glasgow, the global transport industry is preparing for the dedicated Transport Day of the event, to be held on November 10.

Alok Sharma, the COP26 president, has set out the four goals that the UK, as hosts, has focused on in the run-up to the conference and which will determine the agenda for the Transport Day.

Securing global net zero, protecting communities and natural habitats from the impact of climate change, mobilising finance, and working together to accelerate action have been set out as the focal points for the event.

These goals are all well and good but more talk and setting of targets or ambitions at COP26 is not going to help move the world towards global decarbonisation. At least, not with the alacrity that is required.

In particular, the final focus point set out by Mr Sharma – that of working together to accelerate the process – is crucial in the view of us at Volta Trucks.

What is needed now is action. Action that has been sadly lacking among the signatories of the Paris Agreement established at COP21 in Paris six years ago. All the talk of emissions targets, all the pledges, and promises that have been discussed and debated since COP21 have their place but those promises will never be met if key stakeholders don’t work together and act now.

Last-mile logistics matters more than most parts of the automotive sector because traditionally fuelled trucks in Europe account for less than 2% of the vehicles on the road, yet 23% of the carbon emissions emitted from road transport. What we need are trucks on the road, not more targets.

What’s more, there is no need to wait for that action to be taken. It’s time to deliver change and, with the Volta Zero, that change can start today.

The full-electric Volta Zero is not a concept for the future; it is not something being developed for five- or 10-years’ time; it is a truck that will start working on Europe’s roads in a few months’ time. While world leaders have been talking about change, Volta Trucks has been busy delivering it.

By adopting this technology and electrifying their fleets now, fleet operators can play a vital role in solving the decarbonisation problem in a very tangible way.

If, on the other hand, we emerge from COP26 with another basket of empty promises, targets, and deadlines, we will not have moved far enough forwards.

Actions speak louder than words – if businesses and organisations truly want to deliver a significant contribution to COP26’s net-zero ambitions, then the time to get the wheels in motion is now.

With a lower total cost of ownership than equivalent traditional trucks and a Truck as a Service proposition that simplifies the migration to electrification, the Volta Zero is more than just an electric truck. It’s a vehicle for change.

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