Trucks and buses are only 2% of the total number of vehicles on our roads, but in 2020 they were responsible for 28% of the CO2 emissions from road transport in Spain.
According to the Transport & Environment (T&E) study, even taking into account the current CO2 emission reduction targets for truck manufacturers, Spanish trucks and buses would wipe out all projected emission reductions from electric cars and vans by 2036. due to the expected increase in activity. CO2 emissions from heavy vehicles increased by 29% in Spain between 1990 and 2019. According to the European Commission, truck activity in Spain is expected to increase by a further 40% between 2020 and 2050 and bus activity is expected to triple over the same period (+201%).
For Carlos Bravo, responsible for road freight transport at T&E in Spain: “Transport is the biggest climate problem in Europe and Spain, and trucks have a very important responsibility in this which is increasing. In Spain, polluting trucks will offset all emissions savings achieved through the electrification of cars and vans in the 2020s and half of the next decade, unless the EU adapts current regulations in line with its climate targets ».
The environmental organization understands that ending sales of new combustion engine trucks in Europe by 2030 would be the best bet for the climate, but the necessary reductions could be too drastic to implement without jeopardizing the continuity of the operation . Therefore, according to the T&E emissions model, 2035 is the latest achievable date to reach 100% of zero-emission vehicle sales if we want to reach the goal of zero emissions by the middle of the century. The 2035 scenario would leave only a small number of diesel vehicles (that would have passed the average retirement age) on the road by 2050. On average, trucks have a useful life of 18 years in Europe.
They also believe that setting the cap in 2040 would be too late, as trucks would emit 644 million tons more CO2 by 2050 than in the 2035 scenario. That figure would make up 4% of the EU’s total remaining carbon budget , and would be equal to the current annual road transport emissions of Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland combined. Postponing the end date of combustion engines to 2040 for these heavy vehicles would also force lawmakers to take drastic and expensive steps to retire the 20% of the truck fleet that would still run on diesel by 2050 under that scenario.
The study also found that truck manufacturers would be forced to meet their electrification obligations if ambitious CO2 targets were applied in the EU by 2030 that would make it possible to reach the target of zero emissions by 2035. In the T&E scenario with sales end date in 2035, 659,000 zero-emission trucks would be on European roads by 2030, a figure in line with what was announced by truck manufacturers. The diesel consumption of European trucks and buses is said to have been reduced by 9% by the end of the decade.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
