Abstract:

Trucks account for less than 2% of the vehicles on the road but 22% of CO2 emissions from road transport. The relative share of truck emissions is bound to increase as emissions from passenger cars are driven downwards by the surge in the sales of electric cars. Europe needs a new and ambitious policy and strategy to electrify heavy duty vehicles and decarbonise the freight sector to bring it in line with the EU’s Green Deal commitments. The new European framework and public funding mechanisms for infrastructure should prioritise exclusively zero emission technologies. Using a key EU legislation (covering alternative fuel infrastructure)to promote infrastructure for fossil fuels such as CNG and LNG would not respect the Paris Agreement or the European Green Deal. The revised infrastructure framework planned for 2021 should take electric trucks seriously, include them in the scope of the law, and set appropriate binding targets. It should also propose a realistic and cost-effective strategy to allow hydrogen and dynamically-charged trucks to develop.