Kyoto agenda unfair to truckers

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OTTAWA, Ont. — Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) chief executive officer David Bradley says the Kyoto agenda has put the industry in a catch-22 situation with respect to greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Bradley made the comments while addressing the Ottawa Kiwanis Club.

“The dramatic reduction in the truck health-related emissions will be accompanied by a fuel efficiency penalty,” says Bradley. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the new engine technologies designed to reduce the health-related emissions will also increase fuel consumption by between 2 per cent and 4.5 per cent. Given Canadian weather and the condition of our highways, the impact could be worse in Canada.”

He says the problem is really twofold. Improving fuel efficiency is the only way to reduce GHGs. The use of diesel fuel produces two main GHGs — carbon dioxide and methane. Neither of these directly causes air pollution according to Health Canada.

“The reality is that to eliminate the emissions that impair the health of our children and the elderly, we are being mandated by regulation to consume more fuel — and more expensive fuel at that,” he says. “At the same time, there appears to be no desire by government to compel the other freight modes to clean up their act.”

Braldey says the CTA is concerned the federal government will penalize the trucking industry for GHG emissions all the while rewarding it for becoming clean from a health perspective.

“It makes no sense from a health, an environmental, or an economic point of view that all modes not be required to be meet the same standards as the trucks,” he adds.

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