CPA Bulletin

40 CPA Bulletin > August 2018 www.cpa.uk.net Peter Brown peter.brown @ cpa.uk.net HEALTH & SAFETY: 1 CLEAN AIR STRATEGY The Strategy considers all sources of air pollution, including road transport, construction plant, and a range of smaller equipment including household machinery such as lawnmowers. In England, there will be new powers to control major sources of air pollution, in line with the risk they pose to public health and the environment, plus new local powers to take action in areas with an air pollution problem. These will support the creation of Clean Air Zones to lower emissions from all sources of air pollution, backed up with clear enforcement mechanisms. Existing European legislation is already making engine manufacturers upgrade their products, through the familiar stages or tiers of emission reduction levels. The government also intends to introduce compliance checks, to ensure that the equipment has actual emissions within a specified tolerance of the regulated maximum level enforced when it was new. The technology for doing this is being developed now, and has already shown differences between laboratory testing and real-world emissions. Another proposal with serious implications for the construction plant and equipment sector is the establishment of a register of off- road machinery to enable local enforcement including, where appropriate, information on retrofitted equipment and compliance checks, together with an emissions labelling scheme. The Strategy lays a lot of emphasis on new technologies, and it aims to ensure that standards continue to reflect what it technically achievable as new technologies develop, and to drive down emissions from new equipment. A risk for industry is that decisions may be made by local authorities in a way that does not reflect the real availability of the latest engines or alternative fuels. Unlike the GLA, which has taken a pragmatic and consultative approach to this, local councils may be more motivated by elements of virtue-signalling or comparison with other regions. Local authorities are already responding : for example Birminghamhas just launched its public consultation (until 17 August) on its Clean Air Zone, supported by statistics that suggest that air pollution is responsible for the early deaths of nearly 900 people in Birmingham every year. The proposal is that anything older than Euro 6 diesel vehicles or Euro 4 petrol vehicles would have to pay to enter within 1 mile of the city centre. Clients and contractors may follow the example of local authorities, but might not apply the geographical boundaries of only requiring their standards in areas where there is a risk of significant pollution. Some contractors have demonstrated in the past a philosophy of “if you can do it in London, you can do it everywhere”. Coupled with a failure to allow sufficient time for a pricing structure for newer equipment to be embedded in contracts, this could be harmful for businesses that don’t have ready access to investment funds to upgrade their fleet. Is red diesel to blame? In addition to the widespread consultation on the Clean Air Strategy, DEFRA and the Treasury are seeking evidence on the uses of red diesel mainly in urban areas, considering the air quality impacts and the potential for market distortion. The question that the survey ostensibly asks is whether the current rebate scheme for red diesel is affecting owners’ decisions about equipment and technology replacement. The Treasury has also announced it will review how alternative fuel rates of taxation line up with rates of petrol and diesel ahead of the budget in 2018, so changes to the rebate can already be forecast. The call for evidence asks about the power source of machinery, its age and replacement programmes, and what consideration has been given to alternative technologies. CPA has surveyed its Members in order to make our position known to DEFRA and the Treasury when the consultation closed in July. Early responses show that buying decisions are influenced primarily by availability, total cost of ownership and return on equipment. The actual fuel use has little or no impact on owners’ or contractors’ preferences. CPA will be submitting a response to the current phase of consultation on the Clean Air Strategy. We will be discussing and - where appropriate - coordinating our response with manufacturers and users. In May, the Government published its Clean Air Strategy, showing how it intends to tackle air pollution. The Strategy and its associated consultation is not just about theory and good principles - there will be legislation and budgetary measures to drive it forward, which may have serious impacts on the construction plant and equipment sector. The final Clean Air Strategy and detailed National Air Pollution Control Programme are expected to be published by March 2019.