Video: Minister Wayne Furbert Press Conference
[Updated] Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert is holding a press conference this afternoon [Feb 2] to “discuss Bermuda’s Zero Emission Vehicle strategy and the commencement of the public consultation period.” We will have additional coverage later on and in the meantime the live video is below.
Minister Furbert and Aran McKittrick, Project Manager
Update: The live broadcast has concluded and the replay is below
Update 6.51pm: Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert said, “Good afternoon everyone,
“I am pleased to be joined today by Aran McKittrick, one of the Project Leaders on Bermuda’s Zero Emission Vehicle Policy. Many countries have adopted measures to accelerate the transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles or ZEVs. At the same time, global automakers are investing in ZEV technology while phasing out investment in gasoline and diesel vehicles.
“Bermuda is uniquely positioned to benefit from a transition to ZEV’s due to the vehicles’ low annual mileage requirements and increasing renewable energy generation on the electrical grid.
“ZEVs, or zero-emission vehicles, is a term used to refer to several vehicle types:
- “EVs – Fully-electric vehicles with no internal combustion engine [ICE] powered exclusively from electricity stored in a battery
- “PHEVs – plug-in hybrid vehicles with a small electric-only range combined with an ICE
- “FCEVs – fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen [a zero-emission fuel source]
“ZEVs, specifically fully-electric vehicles [EVs], offer multiple benefits including lower fuel and maintenance costs, increased efficiency, and improved local air quality.
“Bermuda is no stranger to the ZEV transition with fully electric rental car fleets and the recently introduced electric public buses. Being less than 25 miles long and 2 miles at its widest point, the island is a prime candidate for ZEVs without the need for long-range vehicles or frequent charging.
“Eliminating emissions from transport will not only reduce Bermuda’s contribution to climate change but improve local air quality and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
“Bermuda is at crossroads, we must have open and robust discussions regarding policy measures to ensure we are not left with outdated technology.
“In order to spur feedback, today we will publish the ZEV Policy Public Consultation Document for the public to review and provide feedback on the Citizens Forum at forum.gov.bm
“This document is intended to solicit feedback from the public and stakeholder groups.
“The next step in the process is to develop concrete, thorough, and exhaustive policy recommendations based on the feedback received.
“At this time, there are a few details of the policy intentionally omitted from the public consult document, they are:
- “1. The date by which the policy would go into effect
- “2. The vehicle technologies to be included in the ZEV definition
- “3. Timeline for phasing out sales for specific vehicle types and use cases
“We have not included this information in the consultation document with the intention of first soliciting feedback from the public.
“After the consultation process concludes, the Ministry of Transport will review each response and provide a detailed policy recommendation and strategy to the public.
“Government is aware there are some key factors that will contribute to final decisions and these items will be part of the overall discussion in key stakeholder meetings. Some key considerations for the ZEV
“Policy are:
- “Determining which types of vehicles will qualify as a ZEV in the Bermuda context, and the timeline and/or ZEV sales targets by vehicle type.
- “Increased electricity demand due to EVs
- “Deployment of a comprehensive charging infrastructure network for EVs
- “Higher purchase price and limited vehicle model availability of ZEVs on the island
- “Developing local ZEV maintenance and servicing capacity
- “Recycling and disposal of EV batteries and other components
“I am encouraging the public to take time to review the document and provide feedback. The deadline for public feedback submissions is March 23rd, 2023. The Ministry of Transport will host Q&A webinar on February 15th and details will be posted online.
“Thank you.”
The full Zero Emission Vehicle Policy Strategy follows below [PDF here]:
“discuss Bermuda’s Zero Emission Vehicle strategy and the commencement of the public consultation period.”
Nope. He’s still not announcing the resurrection of the UBP so he can be leader again
To be honest the worst thing to happen to Bermuda was when the OBA was formed to distant it self from the UBP. Now we have a opposition party that is trying to win by default and that will not work.
The OBA was not “formed” so much as it is the result of a takeover.
The BDA (Bermuda Democratic Alliance) was formed by middle of the road people who did not like policies of either the UBP or the PLP.
Then, for reasons unknown to me, members of the UBP left en mass (I seem to recall some threat of court action) and joined the BDA. Former UBP members then then far outnumbered the original BDA members and then changed the constitution of the BDA and the name to OBA. That was the end of a truly representative political party in Bermuda.
They left because black voters refused to support them anymore!
Because they’re racists.
Yes the UBP was racists and that is why they lost members and voters.
Give people the choice. If ev cars are better, they will buy them. There is no need to make anything compulsory.
This press conference had absolutely no content, so zero emissions. Great questions by reporters, but no answers. I can’t believe the government doesn’t have data on Bermudians and residents who fly routes, also I can’t believe that government couldn’t calculate the capacity of a plane, the number of lost flights, and estimate the reduction in travelers re Miami. Probably got that information for last year without any estimates needed.
If we were all electric vehicles, then we would a significantly larger number of charging stations. Minister mentioned that electric vehicles can go for a week , so can combustible engine vehicles. To fill a combustible engined vehicle takes a few minutes, to charge an electric vehicle takes hours. We will need a significantly larger number of charging stations.
“I can’t believe that government couldn’t calculate the capacity of a plane, the number of lost flights, and estimate the reduction in travelers re Miami.”
The PLP Government CAN do all of that. It does not want to do it.
We do do not.
Like the minister said we aren’t driving large distances each day like citizens of other countries do. For the most part people are going from work to home which at most takes up an hour in total for a day. And most of that time you are sitting in traffic where an electric be is perfect for because then you energy usage nearly drop down to zero as you sit still.
Our natural topography is also beneficial because electric vehicles can utilise regenerative braking to not only slow down a car without physically using the brake, but also charge the battery utilising that momentum of going downhill.
Modern electric vehicles all have ranges that exceed 100miles, I can hardly see someone who drives for a living doing that much in a single day or this tiny island let alone the everyday commuter.
Significant investment in public charging stations are not required because just like your phone you can plug the car in once you get home and potentially come back to a fully charged car in the morning or simply give a little top up while you’re making a quick stop there.
Government subsidies in home installations of chargers should be considered to make this transition more seamless and attractive to locals, especially those that have apartments.
I’m so embarrassed by who we have representing us. Premier Burt you cancelled Lawrence Scott for this guy!!! You really don’t care about BERMUDA and that is obvious!!!
Former UBP leader Wayne Furbert is liked by many and his (new) loyalty to the PLP must be rewarded
We just follow the world off every cliff. Zero emissions is a farce. The mining required to make these batteries, alone, exceeds the emissions from a standard combustion engine. And now we think that by outsourcing the emissions to Belco’s diesel-powered turbines it will reduce emissions? smh
False. Yes fossil fuels are used for the creation of EV’s but they don’t even come close in comparison to combustion engine vehicle manufacturing. Internal combustion engine vehicles emissions continue to grow exponentially, and that’s not including the fact that oil has to pumped, refined and then transported to it’s ending destination. While EV’s have the unique ability to stop utilising fossil fuels and stop emitting greenhouse gases because you can swap their energy source with one that is renewable. If that swap doesn’t occur EV’s still emit less emissions because the energy conversion rate of fuel to electricity is significantly lower then fuel to power. 0.08 gallons creates 12.5KWh of electricity. The average battery size of an EV’s is 40KWh, so that’s 0.32 gallons of oil needed to fully charge your car which could last you up to 7 days. Meanwhile it takes 1gallon of gasoline to create 15Hp.
If we hold Belco to their promise of becoming a zero emissions company or there is further investment into residential and commercial solar or other renewable energy systems we won’t have an issue of not creating enough energy but we will have a problem of creating too much. This can also be solved with mass adoption of EV’s. These cars are literal power station and technology’s such as by-directional charging make it so excess energy could be stored in these vehicles and fed back into the grid during peak energy usage periods or when not enough being created. They can also replace your combustion generators during grid outages.
With an ageing population this is perfect because they only really leave the house to go to the grocery store so most of the time the car will be sitting stagnant on the charger benefiting the community as a whole.
“. The mining required to make these batteries, alone, exceeds the emissions from a standard combustion engine.”
Not at all…that something that the ignorant make up, to further their agenda of misunderstanding everything.
Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert cannot define “climate change” nor can any Minister in the Bermuda Government. But all they love the sound bite and seeing it in the press.
The climate experts with PhDs and decades of subject matter expertise at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), cannot agree on one standard accepted definition of “climate change.” The main reason is that climate changes naturally and that goes against the messaging that governments worldwide are here to save the planet by going green with your tax dollars.
For many years, anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming, or AGW for short, was used in conjunction with global warming speeches. However, AGW is knowingly being incorrectly marketed and rebranded as “climate change.” Per focus groups, “anthropogenic” is too specific and too big a word for public use. The public is totally unaware that NOAA, NASA, the IPCC, and the USGCRP cannot agree on the specific percentage, IF ANY, of “climate change” that is anthropogenic.
So, we all need to buy an EV to stop climate change and save the planet!