A newly-formed coalition of European key players in road freight urges the EU to accelerate the transition to clean trucks in order to meet the emission targets of the proposed EU Climate Law by 2030 and achieve a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.
Eighteen leading European businesses and organisations within the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA), a unique coalition to call for the decarbonisation of road freight in the EU .
Commenting Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, said: “A green recovery is good for our health, our economy, and our jobs. I’m pleased to see yet again an impressive group of businesses, NGO’s, and citizens from across Europe coming together in support of this goal. The European Clean Trucking Alliance offers European capitals a concrete project to include in their economic recovery plans: decarbonising truck fleets. With the European Green Deal as its compass, the Alliance can accelerate the move towards zero-emission freight transport for a healthier future and a stronger economy.”
ECTA business members include major hauliers, logistics and consumer goods companies in Europe and beyond. Altogether, the ECTA business members employ more than 1.6 million people globally and have over €325 billion yearly revenue.
Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister for the Environment of The Netherlands and Chair of the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance, says: “I am very proud and happy to see major European fleet owners and operators launching the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA). It’s efficient; it’s cost effective; and it’s necessary to start with zero-emission freight vehicles and I am happy that industry players are now voicing this message in the EU. I’d like to see how we can accelerate the market for zero emission vans and trucks as part of the post-Covid-19 recovery. We need each other. We need you, you need us, and together we can move faster.”
There are approximately 40 million vehicles delivering across Europe, with trucks carrying more than three quarters of all freight transported over land. As road freight activity is expected to double by 2050, ECTA aims to support the EU in the development and implementation of sustainable road freight transport policies to drastically reduce CO2 and air pollutant emissions.
In its first communication document “Europe’s Opportunity to Decarbonise the Road Freight Sector ” the ECTA calls upon the European Commission to make the shift to zero-emissions trucks a priority in order to meet the ambitious emission targets of the proposed EU Climate Law by 2030 and achieve a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.
In 2019, the EU set targets for reducing the average emissions from new trucks for 2025 and 2030 for the first time in the Union . As part of the upcoming European Commission’s work programme, the Alliance urges the EU to take further steps and “come forward with a clear pathway and political strategy to enable the deployment of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure.”
As EU Member States consider recovery investments in response to the Covid-19 crisis , ECTA urges them “to safeguard jobs and support long-term sustainable solutions that will decarbonise the road freight sector.”
