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.

1. Over 400,000 people died prematurely in 2020 in the EU due to air pollution. Trucks and buses are responsible for 25% of it.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Briefing (PDF)

Methodology (PDF)

Republished from Transport & Environment.