EU outlines future transport emissions targets through 2040

New regs will help to cut overall EU emissions (Photo: Reuters)

Following on from approval by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union has adopted new regulations covering CO2 emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and buses.

The new regulations will outline new emissions reduction targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040.

Under the new targets, the current 15% emissions reduction for 2025 will remain in effect for trucks with a GVW over 16 tonnes.

For 2030, there will be a new 45% emissions reduction target (up from 30%). From 2035, the target will increase to 65% and by 2040, there will be a 90% emissions reduction target.

The new regulations apply to medium- and heavy-duty trucks with a GVW more than 7.5 tonnes. It will also apply to coaches and intercity buses.

Looking at urban/city buses, these will be required to reach a 90% emissions reduction by 2030 and be zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

The regulation will be signed and published into the Official Journal of the EU. It will come into effect 20 days after publication.

Together with a review of the regulations in 2027, the Commission will also have to evaluate developing of common methodology for the assessment and reporting of the full lifecycle CO2 emissions for heavy-duty vehicles.