Last week (August 9th) saw the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 Report, which represents 195 member governments. It made for grim reading with their headline being “Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying”. The report shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since 1850 -1900.
What can we do to reverse this trend? The obvious answer is to burn less fossil fuels. That’s easier said than done. Ireland is one of the worst countries in the EU for not reducing emissions. We are in the bottom third of the table. There will be a spotlight on our industry, in particular as agriculture is seen as one of the main causes of concern. The development of low emission engines and electric vehicles (provided we move away from coal use in energy production) will be more important than ever. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel combustion from agriculture/forestry/fishing contributed to over 35.4% of Ireland’s total emissions in 2019 and is projected to rise to 40% by 2030 in the ‘With Additional Measures’ scenario, in which it is assumed that planned government policies after 2019 are implemented.
With that in mind I think that we, as dealers, should encourage our customers to replace their old tractors and equipment with new ones. With new technology and EU law this has meant that new engines are required to meet Stage V emission standards. This should help towards reducing greenhouse gases, which will help towards slowing down the rate of global warming.
The next time someone brings in a smoky old tractor or engine for repair or service, maybe that’s the time to have a chat with them to try and convince them that changing to a new one would be in the planet’s best interest. This would be one example of how we can play our part in reducing global warming.
I will finish up on a more upbeat note. As mentioned in the last edition of Service Dealer Ireland, the Service Dealer 2021 Conference and Awards will be going ahead on the 25th November. As we all know, last year’s event had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. This year’s conference and awards will take place live at the Double Tree by Hilton Oxford Belfry in England. I do hope that many of you can travel and attend as a great line up of speakers will be there to give their expert opinions on the state of our industry. I am looking forward to meeting people from our industry, in real life, where I can catch up on the latest news and gossip. It would be really nice to see some Irish dealers there as well. The theme of this year’s conference will be ‘Smart Working’. This will cover topics such as mixing family life with business; how new technology has transformed the way we work and lots more. We will keep you updated on the conference over the coming weeks.
