How Sustainable is Your School Bus Service?

Every day, tens of thousands of school students in the UAE commute to school in school buses that run on fossil fuel, emitting roughly 800-1,000 g of CO2 per kilometre.  Not only is this not aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Accord, it sends the completely wrong message to our children.

In the long run, few would disagree that electric school buses are the way to go - they are far more energy efficient, produce no tailpipe emissions, and in the decarbonised electricity grid of the future, they are also zero-carbon.

But their rate of adoption in the UAE is likely to be slow, in part because of uncertainty about their performance in the region’s climate. But also because the transition from diesel to EVs requires significant capital investment for vehicle replacements and extensive EV fast-charging infrastructure.

Caption for this photo: Left to right: Karl Fielder, CEO of Neutral Fuels, Anthony Dixon, Founder and Chairman of TASS, Brett Girven, Principal of the Arbor School and convenor of TASS-Middle East, pictured at the Neutral Fuels factory in Dubai Investment Park.

This long-term timeframe is reflected in The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure’s (MOEI) Electric Vehicle Policy targets - 50% of cars and 70% of buses to be electric by 2050.  Although some 50 countries worldwide have agreed to ban the sales of new vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2040 or earlier, the UAE is not yet among them.

Meanwhile, the transport sector continues to be the fastest-growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately there’s a better option for schools than simply waiting for electric buses to come of age – biodiesel.

Few people know this, but biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil is one of the lowest carbon transport fuels available today at scale. And it’s manufactured in the UAE. In its pure form (B100), it cuts carbon emissions by 84%, although it is commonly used in blends of 20% or less.

Few people know this, but biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil is one of the lowest carbon transport fuels available today at scale. And it’s manufactured in the UAE. In its pure form (B100), it cuts carbon emissions by 84%, although it is commonly used in blends of 20% or less.