The European Commission and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on new CO2 emission standards for trucks in the European Union (EU) for the period after 2020. It stipulates that CO2 emissions from new trucks will have to be 30% lower in 2030 compared to the 2019 emissions. This agreement will have to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council to enter into force immediately.
The transportation sector currently produces a quarter of the EU carbon emissions and is the only area in which they are still growing, unlike the recent trends in the agriculture and power sectors. Tackling emissions from road transport is a key measure of the EU's efforts to reach its objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
More specifically, trucks account for approximately 5% of the vehicle park on EU roads but generate about 27% of road transport CO2 emissions and almost 5% of EU greenhouse gas emissions, which means that they will be a key target of the sector's carbon reduction efforts.