News Archive
LowCVP news items are archived after three months and can be found in this section.
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Displaying 1 to 50 1203 archived news articles
26 February 2010
Today is the last day to get your entry into the free UK Low Carbon Automotive Directory, showcasing your low carbon products, capabilities and skills. It is free for UK organisations to submit an entry, covering their low carbon automotive credentials and contact details.
If you have't already, submit your entry at www.lowcvp.org.uk/entryform/
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25 February 2010
GreenRoad, the US-based manufacturer of a driving system designed to encourage motorists to drive in a safe and fuel efficient manner has received $10m funding from an investment fund backed by the former US Vice President, Al Gore. The technology, which is available in the UK, has also received backing from Richard Branson's Virgin Green Fund. view more
25 February 2010
The Department for Transport has confirmed details of the financial incentives that will be made available to buyers of electric cars from January 2011. The subsidy will be worth 25% of a car's recommended retail price up to a value of £5,000. The first 'Plugged-In Places' - London, Milton Keynes and the North East - have been announced and 11,000 vehicle recharging points to be installed in the three centres during the next three years. view more
24 February 2010
General Motors will wind down operations of its Hummer division after a deal to sell it to a Chinese industrial company - Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. - fell through. view more
23 February 2010
The LowCVP is organising one of the conference modules within a major new event focused on sustainable business - Business and a Sustainable Environment; base 2010 - which runs on March 16-17 at ExCel London. The session, which will focus on the practical applications for electric vehicles, takes place during the morning of March 17.
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22 February 2010
The new Midlands Low Carbon Economic Area will put £19m of Government funding into the research and development of low carbon vehicles. The Government money will be added to £29m funding from Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund and industry to be invested in the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project. view more
22 February 2010
Smith Electric Vehicles - based in North-East England - is providing a fleet of ten Edison vans to Ford of Europe which is a partner in a German project set up to examine the potential benefits of operating commercial electric vehicles. The Cologne-based project will help to inform Germany's stated plans to deploy one million zero emission vehicles by 2020. view more
17 February 2010
Biofuels from waste and residues will count double compared to other biofuels in the EU's efforts to meet a 10% target for renewable fuels use in transport by 2020 according to draft EC guidance which has been leaked by Friends of the Earth. Meanwhile, a new report published by Action Aid - 'Meals per Gallon' - says that biofuels are unlikely to be a solution to climate change or energy security but are likely to contribute to the food and hunger crisis. view more
17 February 2010
The European Commission has created two new Directorates-General for Energy and Climate Action. A British national, Philip-Lowe will be the Director-General of Energy while a Belgian, Jos Delbeke, will take on the role of Director-General of Climate Action. Meanwhile, new Climate Action Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, says that transport will be an important focus for her department. view more
15 February 2010
55 signatory countries to the Copenhagen Accord have submitted pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Meanwhile, the UK is on course to meet its Kyoto target commitment, exceeding a 12.5% cut in greenhouse gas emissions this year compared with 1990 levels. view more
15 February 2010
Car hire giant Hertz has revealed plans to add electric cars to its rental fleet, announcing a joint commitment with Nissan to make the new Leaf electric vehicle available in 2011 in the United States and Europe.
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14 February 2010
The Climate Secretary Ed Miliband says the Government will not be deflected by the economic recession from its efforts to cut carbon emissions. Miliband says Britain stands to gain from a 'green jobs revolution' and from the cost savings associated with efficiency measures. view more
12 February 2010
The Energy Minister, Lord Hunt has announced plans to invest £7m in 15 hydrogen/fuel cell demonstrator projects. The funding, which will be coordinated by the Technology Strategy Board, will support existing research and development into fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and assist the efforts of UK companies in commercialising the technology. The funding will be centred on South Wales with the South West as a key partner. view more
11 February 2010
Under its presidency of the European Union, Spain is expected to push for the adoption of a coordinated European plan to develop electric cars. The strategy is reported to be supported by Germany, France and the European Commission. view more
10 February 2010
Supermarket group Morrisons, the UK's biggest supplier of retail biofuels, has announced the closure of its B30 (30% biodiesel, 70% standard diesel) pumps from April 1. The decision follows the removal of the 20p per litre duty differential from that date, announced in the last Pre-Budget Report. Morrisons is also said to be considering the removal of its E85 (85% ethanol, 15% standard petrol). view more
9 February 2010
A report jointly commissioned by three leading environment groups says that putting more electric cars on the road could increase carbon emissions unless the vehicles run on green energy. The three organisations - Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace and T&E - call for national renewable electricity targets to ensure electric vehicles to ensure electric vehicles really are 'zero emissions'. view more
4 February 2010
Despite the UK's cold snap, worldwide average temperatures in January 2010 have been the hottest ever in the 32-years since satellite data records have been collected. Temperatures were 0.72 deg C above the average according to data collected by an American University and known as UAH global temperature reports. view more
1 February 2010
Shell International Petroleum and Cosan S.A. (Cosan) have announced plans for a major joint venture that could be set to dominate Brazil's ethanol market. and enable the export of product around the world. The companies have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding, with the intention to form a $12 billion joint venture for the production of ethanol, sugar and power, and the supply, distribution and retail of transportation fuels.
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29 January 2010
The International Energy Agency's Chief Economist, Faith Birol, says that oil use in the developed, industrialized countries peaked in 2006-7 and will never return to those levels because of greater fuel efficiency and the use of alternatives. Ms Birol made the statement to journalists. The forecast is significant as the IEA advises 28 countries on energy policy and its forecasts are closely watched by the markets. view more
28 January 2010
A new DfT report on public attitudes to climate change in the context of transport finds that a majority of respondents from amongst the general public understand that transport emissions contribute to climate change and that a majority believe that individuals should try to limit their car use to benefit the environment. view more
28 January 2010
LowCVP members are reminded that they are invited to submit ideas for short articles to appear in the LowCVP's monthly newsletter and appear on an 'open space' section on the website. Articles should be original, not overtly commercial and of interest to the over 2,000 stakeholders who now receive the newsletter.
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28 January 2010
The Renewable Fuel Agency's (RFA) first annual report on the impacts of biofuels supplied in the first year of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation reveals a wide range of performance between companies in terms of both meeting Government performance targets and in following sustainability reporting requirements. view more
27 January 2010
A new study into the presentation of CO2-related information on car makers' websites finds that, on average, only 52% of participants’ attempts are successful in finding the official CO2 rating for a particular car. Even in cases where users are able to retrieve a CO2 value for a particular model, only 68% of these are correct. The survey was commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust, FoE Europe and We are Futureproof. The results of the survey were presented in a LowCVP webinar.
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25 January 2010
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has £12m of Government funding which it will invest in new technology to speed up the reduction of CO2 emissions from road vehicles. The investment will be made in sixteen proof-of-concept studies lasting up to one year and six longer-running full research and development projects. view more
25 January 2010
A report by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) looks at how Information Communications Technology (ICT) could transform the way we choose to travel, and so make both our travel and our lifestyles more sustainable. It concludes that a concerted Government and business focus on ICT solutions could help provide answers to some of our most pressing transport problems. view more
22 January 2010
Official figures published by the European Commission show that average emissions from new passenger cars fell by 3.3% to 153.5g CO2/km in 2008. This is the largest annual fall since monitoring began and confirms unofficial results which were published earlier. view more
19 January 2010
Australia has published its first full report on new passenger vehicle CO2 emissions following the example of data published in the UK. Australia's National Transport Commission identified the data gap which it says was inhibiting the Government's ability to form effective policy. The report, unlike its UK counterpart, publishes emissions data for each individual car brand. view more
16 January 2010
A new report by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University suggests that we should not rely on manufacturers producing hydrogen or battery-powered vehicles in the next decade but that the best way to cut emissions in the short-term is a ‘drastic downscaling of both size and weight’ of conventional petrol and diesel cars. view more
16 January 2010
Spain has targeted agreement on van CO2 as a priority of its EU presidency. The Euopean Commission also aims to make progress on truck emissions and traffic management measures such as road pricing to help cut greenhouse emissions. The aims are set out in a provisional agenda for EU meetings during Spain's leadership.
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15 January 2010
The LowCVP hosted a webinar on 14 January to discuss the reduction of CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles and vans. A full recording of the webinar is now available and can be downloaded from the LowCVP website through the associated link.
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Join us for this LowCVP webinar in which Dr Ben Lane (Ecolane) will discuss the latest findings from new research designed to quantify how easy or difficult it is for potential buyers of new cars to locate and also understand official CO2 information on manufacturers’ websites.
