LOW Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) has been rebranded as Zemo Partnership to highlight the fact that UK road transport emissions will have to be zero by 2050.
The non-profit, government-linked 200+ member partnership was set-up in 2003 to accelerate a sustainable shift to lower carbon, cleaner vehicles and fuels. It is now embracing the new net zero target and changing its name as a direct and powerful demonstration that the world has changed and that the climate emergency means that ‘low’ is no longer enough.
Zemo Partnership will build on years of successful collaboration with members, focusing on the aims and ambitions of Government, to ensure that transport is a key enabler of the UK’s net zero future.
When LowCVP was formed 18 years ago, road transport emitted 118 Mt of greenhouse gases (GHG) a year. Since then, despite road miles increasing by 20%, overall emissions have fallen 5%, driven by low carbon policy and developing technology. Today, however, transport is the UK’s largest GHG-emitting sector, responsible for about 28% of emissions. In 2019 the UK became the first major economy to pass a law requiring the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
To support the introduction of the new name a Zemo Partnership website (www.zemo.org.uk), visual identity and other communications materials are introduced today (18th February 2021). Zemo Partnership’s member organisations will be asked to commit to a new ‘Partnership Charter’ supporting the objective of accelerating the transition in transport to zero emissions.
Speaking at the Partnership’s 2020 virtual annual conference, Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP highlighted the turning point, saying: “We stand on the verge of a new revolution; a green transport revolution, driven by the Partnership…
“We can achieve nothing without collaboration, without the extraordinary array of businesses, academics, environmental institutions that make up the Partnership.” http://zemo.org.uk/news-events/annual-conference.htm
Zemo Partnership’s Managing Director Andy Eastlake acknowledged that for the past 18 years LowCVP has played a pivotal role in helping to deliver the UK’s low emission transport targets.
“In 2020, over 10% of all new cars sold were ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), surpassing the target set out at the LowCVP’s inception in 2003. But today low is no longer enough and we must reset our targets, roll up our sleeves and focus on the road to zero. Re-born, as Zemo Partnership, we are strengthening our commitment to make change happen faster and accelerate the transport transition to zero emissions. Consequently, later this year, a new ‘Zemo Acceleration Programme’ of stand-out initiatives will be announced to demonstrate Zemo Partnership’s purpose and positioning to all our stakeholders.”
Gerry Keaney, Chief Executive, British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA) said the rebrand signifies more than a name change.
“It reflects our collective commitment to driving the decarbonisation of road transport and delivering the UK’s zero emission goals. Zemo Partnership will ensure that the great work done under LowCVP during the past two decades is continued with the fundamental step-change of focusing on zero emission. An essential shift to remain fit-for-purpose in the decades ahead.”
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