The European Union’s executive branch will propose cutting emissions from trucks and buses by 90% within two decades as it seeks to bring one of the biggest-polluting sectors in line with ambitious net zero goals.
(Bloomberg) — The European Union’s executive branch will propose cutting emissions from trucks and buses by 90% within two decades as it seeks to bring one of the biggest-polluting sectors in line with ambitious net zero goals.
The Commission will mandate that all heavy-duty vehicles, both commercial and private, reduce tailpipe emissions 45% by 2030 and then 65% by 2035, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. New city buses will have to be zero-emission by 2030.
The rules to be unveiled later Tuesday are likely to disappoint countries and environmental groups pushing for a 100% reduction, like the one imposed on cars last year, in order to drastically rein in a sector responsible for generating about a fifth of the bloc’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Decarbonizing heavy vehicles is more challenging as their weight makes them difficult to electrify, and hydrogen technologies are still at an early stage.
“Trucks are still the easy-to-abate sectors, compared to planes and ships,” Bas Eickhout, a Green lawmaker in Parliament, said Tuesday. “So please, Commission, step up your game on trucks so we can really deliver on climate neutrality and innovation.”
The Netherlands — home to DAF Trucks NV, one of the largest European HDV manufacturers — Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg called for a zero-emission target for new vehicles last month. The Financial Times reported the targets earlier.
Currently, truck manufacturers must ensure that emissions across their fleet are reduced 15% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Separately, lawmakers were due to rubber-stamp an agreement on phasing out combustion engines in new cars by 2035.
The transition to electric vehicles is already transforming the global auto industry. In a sign of the change, Ford Motor Co. said it will cut about 3,800 jobs across Europe, with workers in Germany and the UK set to be the hardest hit.
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