Corporate Alliance Petition EU to Introduce Stricter Emissions Restrictions on Trucks

An alliance of major corporations has written a letter to the EU petitioning for the introduction of stricter regulations on emissions from trucks and heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs).

In the wake of the COP21 climate change talks in Paris last December, companies such as Nestle and Ikea believe the time for action is now and have requested new legislation to be in place within two years, in a bid to meet the emissions targets agreed upon in France.

An underappreciated problem

Pollution arising from road traffic is responsible for roughly 20% of all greenhouse gases produced in Europe. The EU has pledged to slash emissions’ levels by 40% by 2030 (compared with 1990 levels), but unless further legislation is taken to bring this about, the target is unlikely to be met.

At present, HGVs make up only 5% of all traffic on Europe’s roads. Despite this, they are responsible for 25% of all carbon emissions from the road traffic sector and their rate of pollution has risen by more than a third (36%) over the 20 year period from 1990 to 2010. A decrease in emissions is unlikely to come about before 2050 unless further action is taken to curb the contaminants being spewed out by freight haulage on our roads.

Indeed, the fuel efficiency of HGVs has barely improved over the last 20 years, prompting a coalition of big business players to demand action be taken in the next couple of years.

Corporations call for change

The alliance consists of a number of big names in the world of business and industry, including Nestle, Ikea, DHL, Kingfisher, Phillips, Schenker and Heathrow Airport. It’s interesting that the airport has added their voice to the outcry, especially in the wake of their ongoing plans to build a third runway. In their defence, the 25% of pollution from HGVs does outweigh that produced by air traffic presently.

In a missive to the EU, the conglomerate called upon the body to tighten up the legislation put in place two years ago, which will not require buses, trucks and coaches to measure or report their emissions until 2017.

“Meeting the EU’s 2030 climate targets as well as the more challenging targets agreed in Paris, will require major efforts in the transport and road freight sector,” states the letter. “We therefore call on you to propose post-2020 standards that reduce the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new trucks and trailers.”

Leading by example

Nestle, one of the most prominent members of the coalition, have signalled their intention to improve air quality and reduce transport-related pollution by pledging to reduce both its emissions and fuel consumption by 10% by 2020.

“Increasing fuel efficiency of trucks will give the transport industry the required boost to further reduce overall CO2 emissions after 2020, when most of the other options have been fully exploited,” explained assistance vice president of the company, Bart Vandewaetere.

Over the past decade, the EU has brought about remarkable improvement in the fuel efficiency of vans and cars due to tightened legislation. The corporate alliance and champions of the environment everywhere will be hoping that this letter is enough to force the EU to do the same with the HGV trade.