Greening of freight transport – there are new proposals of the European Commission

In July, the European Commission presented proposals for action to make freight transport more efficient and sustainable in line with the European Green Deal. Key issues include changes to rail infrastructure management, incentives for low-emission trucks and better knowledge on greenhouse gas emissions.

Freight transport, which in 2020 employed about 6 million people in the EU, plays a key role in the functioning of the community’s single market, ensuring constant supplies to European companies and efficient sale of products both on the continent and beyond. However, along with the benefits of freight transport comes the challenge of CO2 emissions. Freight transport is responsible for more than 30% of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Since it is estimated that freight transport will increase by about 25% by 2030 and by as much as 50% by 2050, the level of greenhouse gas emissions will also increase. The solution is to take appropriate decarbonisation measures.

Greening Freight Transport Package

The EC’s July package of proposals, known as the Greening Freight Transport Package, is part of a broader effort towards sustainable transport, including the key assumptions of the “Fit for 55” package. It also complements the EC proposal on updating the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) policy, which is an instrument for coordinating and ensuring cohesion of infrastructure investments in the European Union.

The Greening Freight Transport Package is the 4th flagship program (Flagship 4) in the Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility. The strategy is an action plan to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050, in line with the European Green Deal. Of course, while maintaining the dynamic development of the EU single market. The main postulates of the strategy are: doubling rail freight traffic by 2050, zero-emission of new trucks by 2050 and introducing zero-emission ocean vessels by 2030.

New incentives for the use of low-emission trucks

In 2020, more than 50% of freight transport in the EU was carried by land, and as such this mode of transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In order to encourage the industry to switch to trucks with alternative propulsion, the EC proposes to change the regulations defining the maximum length, width and height of trucks, enabling the increase of the GVW of vehicles using zero emission technology to 44 tonnes. Current solutions increase the weight of such vehicles, but the EC is of the opinion that the technology is developing and over time, zero emission drive systems become lighter. This, combined with the use of cabins and aerodynamic devices, will give green vehicles a competitive advantage in the form of additional payload compared to traditional trucks.

Another proposal of the EC is to enable the crossing of borders by EMS (European Modular Systems), with a length of 25.25 m, as well as to standardize the length of the cargo of auto-transporters. These activities are intended to support intermodal transport. There was also a proposal to simplify the procedure for issuing permits for the transport of oversized cargo. While these proposals have been positively received by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), representatives of the organization are concerned about the plans of the European Commission related to the ban on the use of vehicles with internal combustion engines in international traffic after 2035.

Efficient use of rail transport

In its proposals, the EC puts considerable emphasis on optimizing the way in which member states use railways for freight transport. In the EU, they are expensive to build and increasingly crowded. The proposed solutions are aimed at e.g. improving coordination at borders, increasing punctuality and reliability, which is to encourage more transport companies to use rail transport.

Count Emissions EU: comparing carbon footprints

In its proposals, the EC focuses on a common methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions for companies. It is based on the recently adopted ISO/CEN standard for the quantity and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions related to the activities of passenger and freight transport chains. Reliable door-to-door emissions data will allow operators to compare their services and enable consumers to make informed choices on transport and delivery.