A newly-formed coalition of European key players in road freight urges the EU to accelerate the transition to clean trucks in order to meet the emission targets of the proposed EU Climate Law by 2030 and achieve a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.
Eighteen leading European businesses and organisations are launching today, July 15, 2020, the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA), a unique coalition to call for the decarbonisation of road freight in the EU.
The European Clean Trucking Alliance brings together a broad and diverse range of European players in the road transport of goods such as leading businesses, associations and civil society organisations that share a strong commitment to accelerate the EU’s transition to zero-emissions trucks.
Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, says: “A green recovery is good for our health, our economy, and our jobs. I’m pleased to see yet again an impressive group of businesses, NGO’s, and citizens from across Europe coming together in support of this goal. The European Clean Trucking Alliance offers European capitals a concrete project to include in their economic recovery plans: decarbonising truck fleets. With the European Green Deal as its compass, the Alliance can accelerate the move towards zero-emission freight transport for a healthier future and a stronger economy.”
The European Clean Trucking Alliance business members include major hauliers, logistics and consumer goods companies in Europe and beyond. Altogether, the Alliance business members employ more than 1.6 million people globally and have over EUR 325 billion yearly revenue. This latter figure is comparable to the GDP of Denmark1. The organisations that have joined the European Clean Trucking Alliance are some of the civil society organisations and associations with the strongest network of members and experience in transport and mobility at the European level. The International Council on Clean Transportation acts as technical observer.
Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister for the Environment of The Netherlands and Chair of the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance, says: “I am very proud and happy to see major European fleet owners and operators launching the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA) today. It’s efficient; it’s cost effective; and it’s necessary to start with zero-emission freight vehicles and I am happy that industry players are now voicing this message in the EU. I’d like to see how we can accelerate the market for zero emission vans and trucks as part of the post-Covid-19 recovery. We need each other. We need you, you need us, and together we can move faster.”
Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany, says: “I want mobility that is modern, environmentally friendly and clean. Climate change is transforming our world, and we have to tackle the enormous challenge it poses and rethink mobility. For this purpose, we need a close exchange of ideas and experience in Europe. Here, the European Clean Trucking Alliance can become an important catalyst. I wish the Alliance a successful start.”
There are approximately 40 million vehicles delivering across Europe2, with trucks carrying more than three-quarters of all freight transported over land3. As road freight activity is expected to double by 20504, the European Clean Trucking Alliance aims to support the EU in the development and implementation of sustainable road freight transport policies to drastically reduce CO2 and air pollutant emissions.
Teresa Ribera, Fourth Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of Spain, says: “The road to zero emissions is global, cross-sectoral and unstoppable and, in this context, the shift towards clean technologies is becoming more evident across all segments of road transportation. Initiatives such as the European Clean Trucking Alliance prove leadership required and the interest and capacity of the transport sector to anticipate and boldly tackle the problem of emissions from freight and to transform its operations into a clean supply chain, while attracting new talent to the industry and building a resilient business prepared for climate risk.”
In its first communication “Europe’s Opportunity to Decarbonise the Road Freight Sector”, the European Clean Trucking Alliance calls upon the European Commission to make the shift to zero-emissions trucks a priority in order to meet the ambitious emission targets of the proposed EU Climate Law by 2030 and achieve a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.
Pascal Canfin, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, says: “I welcome the creation of the European Clean Trucking Alliance. To make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050, we need to support businesses that take concrete commitments to deploy green solutions that will decarbonise the road freight sector and accelerate the transition towards zero-emissions mobility in Europe.”
Adam Jarubas, Member of the European Parliament, Poland, says: “I welcome the fact that European business is endorsing emission reductions in transport. There is a lot of work to be done to overcome technical restrictions. We successfully managed to push for clean urban bus transport, which is the first important step. But this was possible on short, predictable routes of vehicles, which is not the case in long range heavy road transport. To achieve our goal we need strong cooperation of all players: business, manufacturing industry and regulatory bodies.”
In 2019, the EU set targets for reducing the average emissions from new lorries for 2025 and 2030 for the first time in the Union5. As part of the upcoming European Commission’s work programme, the Alliance urges the EU to take further steps and “come forward with a clear pathway and political strategy to enable the deployment of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure”.
As EU Member States consider recovery investments in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the European Clean Trucking Alliance urges them “to safeguard jobs and support long-term sustainable solutions that will decarbonise the road freight sector”.
Notes
1 World Bank, Gross Domestic Product by Country, 2019
2 ACEA, Report: Vehicles Use in Europe, 2019
3 Eurostat, Energy, Transport and Environment Statistics, 2019 edition
4 OECD International Transport Forum, Towards Road Freight Decarbonisation, 2018
5 European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, 2019
Press contact
Eleonora Moschini, Strategic Communications Associate, European Climate Foundation, eleonora.moschini@europeanclimate.org, +32493672572
More About the European Clean Trucking Alliance
The Alliance’s newly launched website: www.clean-trucking.eu
The Alliance’s key asks to decision makers–Communication: Europe’s Opportunity to Decarbonise the Road Freight Sector
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Statements from the European Clean Trucking Alliance Members and Supporters
(in alphabetical order by company/organisation name)
Erik Novaes, Vice President of Procurement & Sustainability, Europe, Anheuser-Busch InBev (press contact: Lou Fernley, louise.fernley@ab-inbev.com)
“We welcome the ECTA’s vision to achieve the fastest feasible decarbonisation of road freight vehicles in Europe. As a leader in sustainable brewing, we are committed to piloting different zero-emission technologies to deliver our beers in a number of European cities. Our first e-trucks will be on the roads by the end of this year, and we plan a hydrogen pilot in 2021. Sharing our best practices, we are firmly dedicated to working with the industry and governments towards a greener future of zero-emission transport.”
Heinrich Kerstgens, Co-Managing Director, Contargo
“For Contargo, it is important to help achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. One significant element is combined transport. Here, as well as decarbonising barge and rail transport and handling activities at terminals, it is necessary to provide local delivery of containers by truck that is as CO2-reduced as possible. For this purpose we urgently require offers from manufacturers that make economic sense.”
Torsten Albig, Vice President Corporate Representation Brussels, Deutsche Post DHL Group
“How quickly we will make progress with decarbonizing the logistics sector will largely depend on how well technology and infrastructure meet the needs of the industry. An alliance such as ECTA, which bundles the demand side, will help to accelerate the use of zero-emission vehicles even faster.”
Pénélope Laigo, Sustainable performance and Environment manager, FM Logistic,plaigo@fmlogistic.com“Zero-emission trucks are becoming available, but a strong public-private partnership is needed to support their adoption as a standard. That is why we have joined the European Clean Trucking Alliance.”
Philippe de Carné, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Innovation & Business Excellence, GEODIS (Press contact: Céline Thonnier, celine.thonnier@geodis.com)
“By joining the European Clean Trucking Alliance, GEODIS calls for the implementation of policies that accelerate the decarbonization of the road freight sector with an approach that is fair to the whole market. The deployment of low emission vehicles and energy infrastructure is an essential requirement to enable the transport sector’s transition.”
Kristian Kaas Mortensen, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Girteka Logistics, kkm@girteka.eu
“Today trucks account for only 2% of vehicles on the road. Yet they are responsible for 22% of road transport CO2 emissions in the EU. We cannot meet the Paris agreement without decarbonising road freight. Replacing our 7.400 Euro 6 trucks with zero-emission vehicles is a must. Joining ECTA brings a strong and united voice to our common goal of having zero-emission trucks.”
Ray Minjares, Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program Director, International Council on Clean Transportation
“ICCT strongly supports the Alliance’s vision for zero emission road freight. We are pleased to provide technical assistance to ECTA in pursuit of this vision.”
Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, Sustainability Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations
“At IKEA, we are guided by our vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. We have ambitious goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from every transport that we do by 70% by 2030. We are very happy to be part of the ECTA because we believe that by working together with others, we can achieve more and secure a sustainable future.”
Rolf Meyer, Shareholder and Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Meyer & Meyer
“Sustainable transport and logistics solutions are part of our DNA as a family business. We have been researching, developing and promoting sustainable technologies at great expense for many years. Global cooperation and alliances are necessary to underline the importance of sustainable transport and logistics and to find new and ground-breaking solutions. We are happy to be part of ECTA and look forward to working together and building a more sustainable future.”
Bart Vandewaetere, Head of Corporate Communications and Government Relations for Nestlé Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa
“We are proud to be among the founding members of the European Clean Trucking Alliance. Improving the efficiency of our transport and distribution is crucial if we want to halve our emissions by 2030 and become climate-neutral by 2050. At Nestlé, we have reduced our CO2 emissions in logistics by more than 10% in Europe since 2014. Having more zero-emission trucks and the required infrastructure will help accelerate this move.”
Marcin Blauth, President of the Board, No Limit Logistics
“No Limit Logistics actively supports the objectives of ECTA. When performing business operations, we focus on solutions aimed at decarbonization of transport. We are in the leading group of logistics companies that care about environmental protection.”
Torsten Laksafoss Holbek, CEO, Nordic Logistics Association (NLA)
“NLA is excited to join ECTA and step up the ongoing dialogue with EU decision makers. But good intentions are not enough to bring about the green transition of the transport sector. The road haulage sector needs pragmatic solutions and clarity to make green investments. A strategic roadmap with a binding framework to introduce green technology could give the much needed clarity for all transport related sectors including the energy supply sector, gas stations and service providers. We look forward to taking part in this work in months and years to come.”
Stef Cornelis, Clean freight director, Transport & Environment (T&E)
“This is the first time we see big businesses, the transport sector and civil society uniting forces to accelerate the shift to electric trucks in order to clean up the sector. After cars, we need a technological revolution in the trucking sector and the momentum is now. We urge the European Union to support us in getting there as soon as possible not only for the climate but also for business.”
Elisabeth Post, Chair, Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN)
“Zero-emission technology is a major element in the transition towards sustainable transport and logistics. Therefore TLN calls upon the European Commission to create the conditions and regulations that enable transport companies to develop the feasible deployment of zero emission trucks during the years to come.”
Henk van der Wal, Owner and CEO, Van Der Wal (Press contact: Stefan Scholten, s.scholten@vanderwal.company, +31302427945)
“Leaving the world a better place is not an option, it is a necessity. As a third-generation family logistics company we know this by heart, if not for ourselves, then for coming generations. Therefore, we are well aware that we need the fastest possible shift towards clean forms of transport. We feel that with the ECTA we have a strong vehicle to achieve this.”
Frank Verhoeven, CEO, Vos Logistics
“At Vos Logistics, we put great efforts into becoming more sustainable. Each year we measure the improvements made based on our sustainability KPIs and publish these in our integrated annual report. The ECTA coalition fits well with our strategy and vision, which is why we embrace green innovations. Increasing the amount of zero-emissions trucks on the road yields great advantages. By being part of the coalition, we want to contribute to a more sustainable future.”
Dr. Christoph Wolff, Shaping the Future of Mobility – Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
“The World Economic Forum fully supports the European Clean Trucking Alliance’s commitment to accelerating the EU’s transition to zero-emission trucks. The Forum Platform for Shaping the Future of Mobility is committed to a mobility future that is clean, safe and inclusive. Multi-stakeholder public-private and civil society collaborations are central to achieving ambitious zero-emission industry transformation and we look forward to partnering with ECTA.”