Electric vehicles rather than hydrogen-power cars have the most potential to green the transport industry, Z Energy has concluded in a report. The process of creating hydrogen from sources such as natural gas or the electrolysis of water uses more energy than can be created from burning the hydrogen that is then produced.

Most people would have no idea that the anaesthetic gases released by just one hospital annually in New Zealand has the carbon footprint of 500 return flights between Auckland and London.

Waste Management, which operates its rubbish collection and recycling services in 19 centres in New Zealand, plans to convert all its 850 trucks to electric. Sam Donaldson, Waste Management’s senior project engineer, told the National Road Carriers’ Future of Freight forum in Auckland the company now has eight EV trucks on the road, with two more in the process of being converted. It is planning to have 15 trucks and 100 light vehicles converted to electric by the end of the year.