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

  • November 23, 2020
    Banks' statement aims to cut road deaths
    Pledge from world's bankers aimed at reducing the 1.25 million lives lost on roads each year
  • December 5, 2013
    FOTsis targets ‘socially inclusive’ cooperative ITS
    The FOTsis project addresses the imbalances between the vehicular and infrastructure sides of cooperative ITS infrastructures and looks to ensure road operators can help to enrich future technology applications. By Jason Barnes. Several developments have conspired to push the vehicular side of cooperative infrastructures/cooperative ITS to the fore in recent years. The automotive industry’s rather shorter product development and lifecycles combined with economic slowdown in many regions gave rise to the not
  • October 8, 2021
    Towards intelligent road infrastructure
    A digital transformation is happening in the world today and the result is that Europe’s transport infrastructure, and also the car industry are experiencing revolutionary changes. Jēkabs Krastiņš looks at the challenges and plots the road ahead.
  • August 20, 2015
    Promoting cycling is the solution to congestion and pollution
    Cycling offers health, air quality and road space/parking benefits, promoting governments and the EU to look at tax and technology initiatives. David Crawford reports. One way to improve urban air quality is to make green alternatives to car use financially attractive. Incentivising employees to switch their travel-to-work mode to using their own bikes could increase cycling’s modal share of commuting travel by 50%, a recent French research project suggests. The country’s government already subsidises pu