The invisible killer on Europe’s roads
A T&E briefing analyses how tackling truck pollution will save lives and money.
The European Parliament and Council should use the trilogue negotiations on the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) CO2 standards to extend the scope to small and vocational trucks. This would reduce air pollution from HDVs by an additional 6 percentage points (87% vs. 81%) by 2050 compared to the Commission proposal and would save €15 billion in health costs.
- Over 400,000 people died prematurely in 2020 in the EU due to air pollution. Trucks and buses are responsible for 25% of it.
- Extending the CO2 standards to urban delivery, garbage and construction trucks – which drive around in our cities every day – would save as much nitrogen oxides (NOX) by 2050 as getting 16 million polluting cars off the road.
- Keeping small and vocational trucks exempt from the HDV CO2 standards would cost EU taxpayers almost as much as the entire GDP of Malta (€15 billion) by 2050.
To read the full analysis, download the briefing.
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