Trucks in traffic
(BRUSSELS) – The EU Council adopted a regulation on CO2 emissions for heavy-duty vehicles Monday, amending existing rules to reduce CO2 emissions from road transport, with new targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040.
Under the revised rules, the scope of the existing regulation will be expanded to make almost all new heavy-duty vehicles with certified CO2 emissions including smaller trucks, urban buses, coaches and trailers subject to emission reduction targets.
The new rules maintain an existing 2025 target currently set at a 15% emissions reduction for heavy lorries weighing over 16t. In line with the EU’s climate objectives for 2030 and beyond, the regulation further establishes the following new targets:
- a 45% emissions reduction from 2030 (increased from 30%)
- a 65% emissions reduction from 2035
- a 90% emissions reduction from 2040
The targets will apply to medium lorries, heavy trucks weighing over 7.5t and coaches, as well as to corresponding vocational vehicles from 2035 onwards.
The new rules introduce a 100% zero-emission target for new urban buses by 2035, with an intermediate target of 90% for this category by 2030. Inter-urban buses will be exempt from this target, as they will be regarded as coaches for the purposes of measuring emissions reduction.
The regulation will now be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU, and it will enter into force 20 days after publication.
The Commission is charged with reviewing the effectiveness and impact of the amended regulation in 2027. Among other things, the Commission will also have to evaluate the possibility of developing a common methodology for the assessment and reporting of the full lifecycle CO2 emissions of new heavy-duty vehicles.
Regulation on strengthening CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles
