New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions have risen 54 percent since 1990. Today, over 82 million tonnes of C02 are emitted annually.
Globally, emissions from fossil fuels have climbed to well over 10,000 million metric tonnes of carbon annually, resulting in global economies putting in place measures to decarbonise their nation. Government and businesses have an important role to play on climate change issues.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report on 8 October 2018 calling for global warming to be limited to 1.5 degrees centigrade over the next 12 years. The report stated further if we fail to limit global warming this will significantly increase the risk of flooding, drought and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
What do we need to do to help fight the greatest crisis the world has ever faced?
Wellington entrepreneur Thomas Kiefer, believes actions speak louder than words when it comes to fighting climate change.
Cue New Zealand’s first 100% electric vehicle fleet, offering zero carbon taxi and vehicle hiring services, called ZeroC.
Kiefer is the founding director of ZeroC and acting chief operating officer of ZeroC Cabs, a service of ZeroC.
The founding directors and a small group of initial investors founded ZeroC to provide a truly sustainable transport option and help move the country towards a zero-carbon future.
“Our vision is to lead the way in transforming the corporate transport sector and address the biggest issue of our time – climate change. There’s a lot of well-meaning talk about climate change, but the time for action is now,” says Thomas.
ZeroC has two tranches, ZeroC Cabs and ZeroC Rentals, which operates in Wellington and Lower Hutt. The electric fleet is made up of Hyandai Ioniq and BMW i3 vehicles.
ZeroC Cabs handpicks professional drivers who are background checked and trained, and paid on average above the living wage. Staff members and customers can book a cab using the ZeroC app.
At the moment, ZeroC Cab are focused on the business-to-business model, serving Government and businesses, and will expand to a business-to-consumer model for the public in the future.
“Since our pre-launch few weeks ago, our customers have already saved a staggering 160 KG of CO2 in this short period of time. The feedback we had so far is fantastic – people and business are excited to make the change to green transport, and want to be involved in this change to a zero carbon future. There is an opportunity to reduce the overall carbon footprint by 68 tonne of CO2 per year, that businesses need to start utilising,” he said.
Thomas urges Government agencies, councils, and businesses to step up and urgently accelerate the implementation of sustainable transport alternatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“ZeroC’s road map is far from complete, but it’s a first step in our commitment to sustainable and ethical transport. We must rise to the challenge of climate change before it’s too late.”
To create a healthy and thriving planet for future generations, join ZeroC now! ZeroC has a special promotional offer of a 50% discount on rides for the first week.
SBN members registered with ZeroC will receive a free ride for every 10 KG CO2 saved!