the European Commission wants to ban a large part of polluting heavy goods vehicles by 2040, without convincing environmentalists

After the approval of the end of new thermal vehicles in 2035 by a vote of the European Parliament, Tuesday February 14, the European Commission announced its intentions for heavy vehicles. And the virtual end of polluting trucks and buses by 2040. By this date, heavy goods vehicles leaving factories must have reduced their emissions by 90% compared to 2019. City buses must be 100% clean by 2030.

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The first electric trucks are just coming onto the market, the first hydrogen fuel cells for trucks will only be produced in two years. We must therefore leave room for the sector, believes Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, European Commissioner for Climate Action; According to him, there is a real challenge for small and medium-sized businesses. “We must support small and medium-sized enterprises in this transition. This is why we set the target at 90% in 2040.”

This objective gives an ambiguous signal to manufacturers and will not make it possible to achieve the European objective of carbon neutrality in 2050, denounces the group of the Greens in the European Parliament. For the ecologist Karima Delli, president of the transport committee in Parliament, this text lacks ambition. “We have a very clear roadmap, we cannot have a two-speed fleet. We must have the same calendar.”

The bill will be the subject of negotiation between MEPs and representatives of the States.