Why it’s important. In Europe, trucks may account for only 2% of vehicles on the road but they are responsible for 22% of CO2 emissions from land-based transport. With 97.9% of new trucks registered in the EU still running on diesel, the growing demand for transportation services means that under the current pattern carbon emissions will continue to increase.
What strategic role can the EU’s Green Recovery Plan play? Financial aid should be targeted to support the trucking sector in the transition away from diesel and gas by:
Investing in electric charging infrastructure along European highways;
Helping truckmakers scale up manufacturing of zero-emission trucks;
Ensuring that no financial support can be granted to fossil fueled vehicles and infrastructure;
Subsidizing road transport companies to scrap older fossil fuel engined trucks and replace them with battery electric or hydrogen vehicles.
As Stef Cornelis from the non-profit organization Transport and Environment concludes :
The climate emergency requires that Europe’s key urban areas and roads be fit for zero-emissions road freight. (…) Scrappage schemes should support the clean trucks of the future, not the fuels of the past.