The European Commission is set to propose tougher CO2 emissions standards next month for heavy-goods vehicles to comply with the bloc’s targets linked to climate change.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg have urged the European Union to set a date by which new trucks and buses sold in Europe must be CO2-neutral.
The European Commission is set to propose tougher CO2 emissions standards next month for heavy-goods vehicles to comply with the bloc’s targets linked to climate change.
It has already set more ambitious targets for cars, including a deadline of 2035 for all new cars sold in Europe to be CO2-neutral.
The four countries said an EU proposal next month should set a 100 percent zero-emissions target for heavy vehicles. Countries did not target a specific date, but said it must be in line with the European Union’s goal of achieving net zero emissions of greenhouse gases in all EU countries by 2050.
“The upcoming revision of CO2 standards for heavy vehicles provides a unique opportunity to send a strong signal to the market and stimulate transition at the right time,” the countries said in a joint document published on Friday.
The four countries also called for a stricter target for truck and bus emissions by 2030, adding that the carbon dioxide limit base should be expanded to include more road freight vehicles, as about 35 percent of this sector’s emissions are not included in current EU carbon dioxide standards. .
The transport sector produces nearly a quarter of emissions in the European Union, and has bucked the bloc’s general trend of cutting carbon dioxide emissions over the past three decades, threatening its goal of cutting the bloc’s net emissions by 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
