Trucks and CO2 Archives

The coalition agreement between the German Conservatives and the Social Democrats outlines a relatively ambitious energy policy. EURACTIV’s partner Le Journal de l’environnement reports.

Since 1990, the production of "green" electricity in Germany has increased by 1,000% and export rates, according to preliminary data for 2017, just smashed another record. EURACTIV Poland’s partner WysokieNapiecie.pl reports.

The revelation that German carmakers have tested diesel exhaust fumes on monkeys is just the most recent in an appalling catalogue of scandals in which the German auto industry has been embroiled, writes Greg Archer.

EU member state ambassadors struck a deal Friday (15 December) on monitoring and reporting rules for CO2 emissions applying to trucks, opening the way for negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise the law next year.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday (8 November) a legislative package aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in road transport and encouraging the uptake of electric cars, in an attempt to help Europe's car industry remain competitive in the face of growing pressure from the US and China.

The European Commission will unveil a package of legislation regulating environmental aspects of transport on Wednesday (8 November), amid concerns from NGOs and some MEPs that it may lack ambition in setting targets for the car industry.

European countries spend more than €112 billion per year subsidising oil, gas and coal production or consumption – including tax breaks on highly-polluting diesel – despite a pledge to phase out fossil fuels completely by 2020.

Swedish truckmaker Scania was hit with an €880 million fine by the EU on Wednesday (27 September) for taking part in a 14-year price fixing cartel, boosting the total fine for the firms involved to a record €3.8 billion.

The car sector is keeping EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska busy. In an exclusive interview with EURACTIV, the Polish official spoke frankly about carmaker responsibility following the Dieselgate scandal, how to deal with Uber and how Brussels-Warsaw relations might not improve.

Trucks could be much more fuel efficient and save hauliers €5,700 a year if they used technology that is already available, according to a new report by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) released on Tuesday (26 September).

A lot is at stake for the energy security of Europe if political correctness was to dictate imposing one technology against the other, John Cooper, Director General of FuelsEurope told EURACTIV.com.

The British government has given the go-ahead for the first trials of convoys of semi-automated trucks on UK motorways.

Italy and France are dusting off plans for a rolling highway that only carries 2% of trucks through the Alps. EURACTIV's partner Journal de l'Environnement reports.

Europe lags behind the major world economies in regulating fuel efficiency standards for the fast-growing truck transport sector and the Commission is moving to address the issue with legislative proposals, a panel on the Future of Road Freight Transport was told on Monday (3 July).

Europe's automobile industry continued the positive trend of the last three years in the first quarter of 2017, with domestic sales and exports posting a healthy rise, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said in a report released on Monday (26 June).

Hauliers claim that trucks are overpaying in taxes and charges compared to their impact on the environment and society. But the reality is that road transport is now Europe’s biggest climate problem, writes Samuel Kenny.

Eight EU countries will be forced to change how they charge passenger cars that use public roads by 2023 and nine countries will need to change their systems for trucks, according to draft European Commission plans.

As the EU moves into the era of "smart mobility", Dan Wolff wonders whatever happened to the idea of multimodal transport. Just because road freight innovates faster than other transport modes doesn't mean policymakers should give up on multimodality, he argues.

EU transport chief Violeta Bulc is expected to announce an overhaul of how countries charge road tolls this May - a controversial issue that has provoked bitter political fights lately and is likely to spark backlash from member states, the shipping industry and truck drivers.

The move towards autonomous vehicles, driven by the progressive electrification of transport, and backed up by road pricing schemes, all carry the potential of radically cleaning up Europe's transport system, writes Greg Archer.

Germany’s Öko-Institut warned the EU must cut global warming transport emissions by 94% by 2050 to stop the planet’s temperature rising above the two degree limit agreed by world leaders at the Paris climate summit in December 2015.

The European Commission was in a giving mood just in time for Christmas today (19 December) as it greenlit a number of member state projects.

Light commercial vehicles are increasingly being used as a means to dodge social legislation and taxes, writes Samuel Kenny.

The European Commission is in denial concerning the contribution of conventional ethanol to the EU's transport decarbonisation goals post-2020, according to European ethanol producers.