New Emission Standards for Trucks
The European Council has recently agreed on a “general approach” regarding a proposal to improve and update CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, in line with EU climate targets.
This approach is widely debated among industry stakeholders. On the one hand, organizations such as Transport & Environment believe this represents a decisive push towards the adoption of electric vehicles, seen as the definitive solution to the CO2 emissions challenge. On the other hand, vehicle manufacturers believe the priority should instead be renewing fleets across different countries—which in some cases include vehicles that are decades old—before further restricting options for new vehicles. GRUBER Logistics pays close attention to decarbonization issues and is therefore following developments with keen interest. But let’s look at what the new approach entails.
The Council’s text aims to strike a balance between the Commission’s objective of reducing the climate impact of the road freight sector and granting EU Member States some flexibility in implementing the regulation. The proposal broadens the scope of the regulation to cover almost all new heavy-duty vehicles with certified CO₂ emissions, including smaller trucks, buses, and trailers.
The new regulations and targets are:
- A 45% reduction in emissions by 2030 (up from the previous 30%).
- A 65% reduction in emissions by 2035.
- A substantial 90% reduction in emissions by 2040.
In addition, emission targets for trailers and semi-trailers have been set at 7.5%.
The Commission will review the effectiveness and impact of this new regulation and the aforementioned targets in 2027. Parliament has yet to vote on the truck CO2 regulation. The “general approach” will serve as the Council’s mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament to finalize the legislation. The outcome of these negotiations will require formal approval from both the Council and Parliament.