European environmental, health and consumer groups urge Commission to make all new trucks zero emission by 2035

Despite representing only 2% of the vehicles on the road, trucks’ account for more than a quarter of road transport emissions in the EU and have been increasing every year since 1990.Heavy-duty road transport is also one of the largest sources of air pollution, which the European Environment Agency estimates to cause 350,000 premature deaths per year in the EU.

The upcoming proposal by the European Commission to revise the CO2 standards for new heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) is the lever to set trucks on a future-proof path to zero emissions. Without policy action, trucks would eat up as much as 37% of the EU’s shrinking carbon budget by 2050.

The time to set an end date for diesel trucks is now, requiring an ambitious midterm target of at least 65% in 2030 to be ready in time. The signatories of the letter form a broad coalition of 39 environmental, health and consumer associations from across Europe, representing people in more than 14 European countries, and call on the Commission to ensure that all new trucks are zero emission by 2035 at the latest.