Skip to main content

EU cooperation using ‘intelligent transport’ can cut CO2, says IRU

Decarbonisation of commercial road transport and logistics should be linked to safety improvements and efficiency gains if the ambitious EU CO2 emissions reduction targets are to be met, according to a major new report on the future of commercial road transport in the EU, published by world transport organisation IRU. The report, Commercial Vehicle of the Future, claims measures to decarbonise road freight transport could provide new opportunities to further improve road safety and optimise operational e
February 17, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Decarbonisation of commercial road transport and logistics should be linked to safety improvements and efficiency gains if the ambitious EU CO2 emissions reduction targets are to be met, according to a major new report on the future of commercial road transport in the EU, published by world transport organisation IRU.

The report, Commercial Vehicle of the Future, claims measures to decarbonise road freight transport could provide new opportunities to further improve road safety and optimise operational efficiency as the industry attempts to meet the challenging but achievable environmental targets.

By adopting a holistic approach to the sector a unique forward-looking vision on the future of road freight transport and logistics has been created. The report aims to take stock of how evolving technologies and trends could shape the use of commercial vehicles in the future, and how these measures might have positive cross-over benefits for improving road safety and operational efficiency.

According to Marc Billiet, who leads IRU’s work on road freight transport and environmental affairs in Europe, the road freight transport and logistics industry is well under way to meet its voluntary commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. However, he believes it will be very difficult to reach these targets without close cooperation with partners in the public and private sector such as the European Institutions, national governments, vehicle and component manufacturers, fuel producers, ITS providers, clients and NGOs.

Related Content

  • 5GAA and ITS India connect in New Delhi
    January 31, 2025
    Leveraging tech such as C-V2X has potential to reduce India's road death toll
  • Extra enforcement key to cutting road casualties in The Netherlands
    November 27, 2013
    While The Netherlands already has some of the safest roads in the world it has ambitious plans to make them safer still, as Jon Masters discovers. In virtually all periodical studies and comparisons of countries’ road safety performance, the Netherlands is consistently in the top three and often leads the world, depending on how casualty figures are compared. According to the International Traffic Safety Data & Analysis Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum, road deaths per capita have falle
  • Airborne traffic monitoring - the future?
    March 1, 2013
    A new frontier in the quest to monitor road traffic is opening up… but using airborne drones to reduce the jams comes with some thorny issues. Chris Tindall reports. Imagine if you could rely on a system that provided all the data you needed to regulate traffic flow, route vehicles and respond swiftly to emergencies for a fraction of the cost of piloting a helicopter. That system exists, but as engineers and traffic managers start to explore the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly k
  • Monitoring and transparency preserve enforcement's reputation
    July 30, 2012
    What can be done to preserve automated enforcement's reputation in the face of media and public criticism? Here, system manufacturers and suppliers talk about what they think are the most appropriate business models. Recent events in Italy only served to once again to push automated enforcement into the media spotlight. At the heart of the matter were the numerous alleged instances of local authorities and their contract suppliers of enforcement services colluding to illegally shorten amber signal phase tim