LPG: Tackling Rural and Urban Air Quality, together.

Thursday 8th October 2020

The UK has an air quality problem it can’t ignore.

Whether in urban areas from built-up traffic and highly polluting vehicles, or the health risks and air quality issues from rural off-grid fuels such as solid fuels or biomass, it’s clear that UK Government and Devolved Nations must take into account air quality when looking at our transition to Net Zero.

LPG is a key component of the UK’s energy mix, it emits 33% less CO2 than coal and up to 20% less than oil. It is a clean burning, smoke-free fuel which emits very low levels of NOx, SOx and Particulate Matter (PM). It’s already being used today to help reduce emissions from heating and polluting vehicles, as well as improve toxic air quality.

Firstly take transport, a transition to EV’s for domestic and commercial vehicles is going to take time. Today, LPG retrofit provides vehicles with an immediate solution that immediately cuts carbon and improves air quality. You can also purchase an LPG vehicle today from major car manufacturer Dacia, who recently launched 3 LPG vehicles as part of their Dacia Duster range  - in fact Top Gear gave the car a glowing review and an 8 out of 10! So it’s not just us that agree!

To put it into context, one diesel vehicle emits the same level of NOx as one LPG vehicle, and PM emissions from LPG vehicles on an urban cycle are so low that they are below reliable measurable levels. Which is why a number of cities in the UK financially support LPG taxi retrofit, from London and Birmingham, to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Here at Liquid Gas UK we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with more cities and towns looking to cut emissions and immediately improve air quality.

On to heat, whether its domestic or commercial space and hot water heating, or heating industrial processes, air quality must be taken into account. LPG is a clean burning fuel with extremely low NOx, SOx and PM, compared to the high PM contents of fuels such as coal and biomass. Bearing in mind a recent Department for Rural Affairs report which highlighted the major health risks from these fuels, we are calling on the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy not to support these fuels for decarbonising heat, instead supporting low-carbon and clean burning fuels such as LPG, bioLPG, heat pumps and hybrid heat pumps. Just because you live in a rural area, does not mean that your local air quality should be compromised.

Liquid Gas UK and the LPG industry is delighted to support Clean Air Day 2020, for more information on the role for LPG read out 2040 Vision here.

The trade association for the LPG and bioLPG industry in the UK