EU and US move to limit emissions from road freight
Sun 23 May 2010
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Both the European Union and the United States have made recent moves to reduce CO2 emissions from the road freight sector. The Commission has floated proposals to introduce emissions standards for trucks while the US President has directed the Environmental Protection Agency to issue the the nation's first fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards on new medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Efforts to reduce climate emissions from road freight transport were given a boost last month when the Commission suggested the introduction of carbon dioxide emissions standards for the first time. The idea has been floated in a communication on clean and energy-efficient vehicles, which concentrates mainly on setting a framework for the development of electric cars.
The communication is aimed at helping European industry play a leading role in promoting and developing cleaner transport technology over the next decades. It contains an action plan that mentions for the first time the need to limit CO2 emissions from heavy lorries.
In the United States, President Obama has signed a presidential memorandum on truck fuel use. This directs the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency to jointly issue the nation's first fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards on new medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
The standards must be issued as a final rule by 30 July 2011 and are to cover 2014 models. Obama told both agencies to find ways to make better use of existing ideas to cut fossil fuel use and emissions.
Meanwhile, The European Commission recently announced the opening of a truck and bus emissions testing centre at the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Northern Italy). The centre 'VELA 7", has equipment which realistically simulates wind drag, tyre/road friction and full drive cycles for real-life articulated lorries of up to 40 tonnes or 12m long buses.
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