Clearing the road for cleaner transportation

Today, MEPs in the Environment Committee will vote on the EU’s new CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks and buses. A majority in favour is expected. The Greens/EFA Group have long called for more ambitious standards in order to reduce the transport industry’s contribution to global warming. The Parliament will vote on its position in the upcoming Strasbourg plenary session (20-23 November). 

Greens/EFA MEP, Bas Eickhout, European Parliament Rapporteur and Vice-Chair of the Environment Committee, comments: 

“This vote removes a huge obstacle on the road to cleaner transportation. The EU has been consistently sending the market signals that fossil fuels are the past and clean transportation is the future.

“This EU law will make our cities’ streets cleaner and quieter. By 2030, all new city buses should be zero-emission. Despite conservatives’ attempts to lobby for weaker targets and synthetic fuels, a green coalition is coming together in favour of the decarbonisation of heavy road transport in Europe.

“Including synthetic or alternative fuels in the EU’s long-term plan would counteract efforts to decarbonise by making the green transition more inefficient and expensive. The conservatives’ attempt to include these fuels is especially incomprehensible given that almost all EU truck manufacturers are clearly against this. Conservatives seem to prioritise a future with fossil fuels over a future with competitive European industries.”

More:
Significant targets included in this report are a reduction of 45% in emissions by 2030, 70% by 2035, at least 90% by 2040 (compared to 2021). These CO₂ targets will apply not only to heavier trucks, but also to vocational vehicles (e.g. garbage trucks) and smaller trucks (<5t), both of which were not included in the original Commission proposal.