A legislative proposal from the European Commission provides that CO2 emissions from new trucks be reduced by 90 % in 2040, after a strong battle with supporters of a more ambitious objective.
by Virginie Malingre (Brussels, European Bureau)
In 2050, “almost all vehicles traveling on our roads will be zero issues”, welcomed the vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, Tuesday, February 14. A little earlier in the day, in Strasbourg, the MEPs had adopted the regulatory project ending the sale of new cars and light utility vehicles with thermal engine from 2035 while, for its part, the commission finalized its proposal Legislative to program the end of heavyweights of greenhouse gas.
This text, which must still be the subject of negotiations between the European Parliament and the Member States, provides that carbon dioxide emissions (co 2 ) of trucks, long distance bus and Other heavy goods vehicles are reduced by 45 % (compared to 2019) for those who will leave factories in 2030, 65 % for generation 2035 and 90 % for that of 2040.
In addition, derogations are planned for vehicles made in small series for mining, forestry and agricultural purposes, for those of the armed forces and firefighters, ambulances and medical vehicles, or for trucks for collecting waste waste . For urban buses, on the other hand, the commission is more ambitious: it wishes that in 2030 those which will be put into circulation are “clean”.
“new standards”
While Europeans have undertaken to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, they continue to decline, in their legislation, the “green pact” which must allow them to respect the Paris Agreement on the climate , signed in December 2015. Road transport, all categories combined, generates 20 % of greenhouse gas emissions from the European Union (EU). For heavy goods vehicles alone, this ratio is 6 % and these figures keep climbing, while road transport is growing. “In 2019, road freight emissions were 44 % higher than those in the airline sector and 37 % above those generated by maritime transport,” explains the commission.
What is more, trucks and bus roll almost all thanks to petrol, most often diesel from Russia. At a time when Europeans want to put an end to their dependence on Russian energies, this legislative proposal is very timely. “With these new standards, demand for fossil energy should decrease by 2 million barrels of oil between 2031 and 2050”, specifies the commission.
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