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New buses must be zero-emission for EU cities by 2030

16 February 2023

by Christopher Carey

The European Commission has proposed new legislation for the rapid phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles, including plans to make all new city buses zero-emission by 2030.

In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and REPowerEU, the Commission will also set targets for heavy-duty vehicles – including trucks and long-distance buses – to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040.

Commenting on the plans, EU Commission Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said that all parts of the transport sector have to actively contribute to reach the climate and zero pollution goals that the EU has.

“With today’s proposal, we are making sure that new trucks are becoming less polluting and that more buses with zero emissions will ride through our cities,” Timmermans stated.

“Fighting the climate crisis, enhancing the quality of life of our citizens, and boosting Europe’s industrial competitiveness go hand-in-hand.”

In October 2022, 11 European cities (Barcelona, Cluj-Napoca, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Malaga, Milan, Palma, Paris, Rotterdam, Seville and Valencia) asked the EU to make the purchase of zero-emission buses for public transport mandatory from 2027.

“Without action at EU level, demand for zero-emission urban buses will not be matched by supply“, the cities wrote in a letter sent to the EU Commission on 24 October.

In early 2023, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg urged the European Union to fix a date on requiring new trucks and buses sold in Europe to be zero-emission.

Emissions in the heavy-duty vehicle sector have been increasing year-on-year since 2014 with the exception of 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

This is particularly true for the freight sector, and is mainly due to growing road transport demand. In 2019, freight emissions were 44 percent higher than emissions from the aviation sector and 37 percent higher than maritime transport emissions.

The vast majority of heavy-duty vehicles in the EU fleet, 99 percent, currently run on internal combustion engines, fuelled largely by imported fossil fuels such as diesel.

Image: possessed-photography-unsplash

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