Parliament backs new rules to reduce air pollution from trucks and buses

PHOTO: Dmitry Vereshchagin 

MEPs are ready to start negotiations with EU countries on new measures to strengthen CO2 reduction targets for new heavy goods vehicles, including buses, trucks and trailers.

Parliament adopted its negotiating position on Tuesday by 445 votes to 152, with 30 abstentions.

MEPs are calling for strict CO2 reduction targets for medium and heavy goods vehicles, including service vehicles (such as refuse trucks, tippers or concrete mixers) and buses. The targets would be 45 % for the period 2030-2034, 65 % for the period 2035-2039 and 90 % from 2040.

They agree with the Commission's proposal to allow only new zero-emission urban buses to be registered from 2030 and propose a temporary exemption (until 2035) for biomethane-fuelled urban buses under strict conditions.

Rapporteur Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, NL) said, "The shift to zero-emission trucks and buses is not only crucial to meeting our climate targets, but also a major driver for cleaner air in our cities. We are providing clarity to one of Europe's major manufacturing sectors and a clear incentive to invest in electrification and hydrogen. We are building on the Commission's proposal by broadening the scope and adapting several targets and benchmarks to catch up with reality, as the transition is happening faster than expected.

Press conference

Rapporteur Bas Eickhout will brief journalists after the vote on Tuesday 21 November at 13:30 CET in the Daphne Caruana Galizia press conference room (WEISS N -1/201) in Strasbourg. You can watch a live broadcast and a recording of the press conference on Parliament's website.

Next steps

Parliament is now ready to start negotiations with EU governments on the final legislation.

Background

On 14 February 2023, the Commission presented a legislative proposal to set CO2 standards for heavy goods vehicles from 2030 to help achieve the EU's 2050 climate neutrality target and reduce demand for imported fossil fuels. Heavy goods vehicles such as trucks, urban buses and coaches are responsible for more than 25 % of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the EU and account for more than 6 % of total EU greenhouse gas emissions.

By adopting this report, Parliament is responding to citizens' expectations that it will tackle pollution and encourage the purchase of electric vehicles and investment in the development of other non-polluting technologies, as expressed in proposals 2(2) and 4(3) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

(europarl.europe.eu/RoZ)