A second phase of a new carbon benchmark for medium- and large-sized trucks has been announced this week by the US Environment Protection Agency. It is expected that this standard will cut more than 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon emissions and 2 billion barrels of oil use. By 2027, it’s reported that trucks made in 2027 will be 25 per cent more carbon efficient than models built in 2018.
This announcement adds more pressure to the European Commission to get on and introduce carbon efficient limits on European trucks.
Influencing the buying decisions of fleet operators to purchase more energy-efficient trucks is expected to tackle rising transport emissions. The Commission wants purchasers to be advised of a truck's CO2 standard and for targets to be set to curb emissions. Up until now the focus has been on Euro Standards and reducing air pollutants.
Carbon standards for new HGVs (plus buses and coaches) are therefore due to introduced by 2019. Cars and vans have already come under similar CO2 legislation but complications arise when attempting to apply these to HGVs, where there are rigids, semi-trailers and tractors to consider, not to mention tyres, different gearboxes and axles. Add to this varying operational and duty cycles and differing bodies and equipment.
The Commission has developed a vehicle energy consumption calculation tool (VECTO) to measure fuel and carbon emissions to tackle these issues. But there is a risk a certification scheme may be overly simplistic considering the wide variety of models and sizes and the differing weights and loads carried. As the Commission sets legislation, FTA believes that manufacturers and operators are both engaged in the process so that the standards are workable for industry as a whole.
(The views and opinions expressed by the authors of these blogs are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Freight Transport Association)
