EU: CO2 reduction targets for trucks as good as agreed
The EU Parliament kept busy before the Easter break and formally approved the first ever EU regulation on CO2 emissions for trucks and lorries. The MPs set a 30% CO2 reduction target for new heavy-duty vehicles by 2030.
The MEPs also approved the intermediate reduction target of 15%, by 2025. This is in line with a draft law that had been informally agreed between European Parliamentarians and the Romanian Presidency of the Council in February. On Thursday it was adopted with 474 votes in favour, 47 against and 11 abstentions.
The regulation requires CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and lorries to be reduced compared to the 2019 levels. Both new targets are 5 per cent less than the numbers the EU Parliamentarians initially imagined but must still be considered progress, given that there was no previous regulation. Says Rapporteur Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, NL): “It is a great success that the EU is taking action for the first time on CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.”
The sector’s corporations such as Ikea, Nestlé or Unilever and other logistics operators match the political will. They have been eager for clear rules as they expect supply to expand and costs for the heavy-duty electric vehicles to decrease.
They had expected a sales quota, and indeed the Parliament requires manufacturers to ensure that at least a 2% market share of the sales of new vehicles is made up of zero-and-low-emission trucks by 2025. Manufacturers that reach the sales will be rewarded with a lower CO2 target. Fines for failing to comply will be imposed in a two-stage system: 4,000 euros per gram of CO2 between 2025 and 2029 and 6,800 euros per gram from 2030.
The Council will need to approve the text formally, but this can be seen as just a formality indeed. Once endorsed by the legislators, the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the Union and will immediately enter into force.
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