EU agrees on Greenhouse Gas Emission cut for Trucks

February 21, 2019

The European Parliament and the Council have struck a deal reduce average CO2 emissions compared with 2019 levels. The features of the deal are:

To reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from new trucks and buses by 30 per cent by 2030.
The deal proposes a binding CO2-reduction target for trucks at the EU-level for the first time and includes a clear stimulus for zero and low-emission trucks.
Trucks account for almost one-quarter of the EU’s transport-related emissions and the EU did not have limits on emissions from heavy-duty vehicles till now.

The EU has the ambition of being climate-neutral from 2050. EU had agreed in December 2018 on targets for cutting emissions from cars and vans. The curbs on the transportation sector are expected to help the bloc meet its overall goal of reducing greenhouse gases by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 under the Paris climate accord.

European Parliament

The Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure other EU institutions are working democratically. The Parliament acts as a co-legislator, sharing with the Council the power to adopt and amend legislative proposals and to decide on the EU budget.

European Council

The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU’s political agenda. The members of the European Council are Heads of state or government of EU countries, European Commission President, High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy.