CO2 pricing is key to making transport more ecological, says Volvo president and CEO – Euractiv Italia

The implementation of the EU’s CO2 pricing system for road transport is important in developing the business case for electric and hydrogen trucks, Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of the Volvo Group, said in an interview with Euractiv.

While transport emissions in the EU increased by 26% from 1990 to 2023, making the sector the “problem child” of the green transitionThe EU aims to reduce emissions by 90% by 2050, according to its climate agenda.

Wednesday (April 10), European Parliament should pass a new law for trucks and buses, which will significantly reduce the number of diesel trucks that can be sold in Europe, forcing truck manufacturers to increase the share of zero-emission vehicles such as battery-electric or hydrogen-powered trucks.

“We see it as difficult, but we see it as doable,” Lundstedt, chief executive of the Volvo Group, which makes trucks and buses, said of the new targets, adding that “we have the resources available.”

“But the truth is that you can have enough equipment, but you have to have the infrastructure, have the network capacity, have green energy and have TCO (total cost of ownership) and equity, (…) and you need supply chain,” Lundstedt said.

“And each of these factors is multiplied together because if one of them is zero it is zero.”

Although more than five years ago the EU has adopted several laws that should ensure the adoption of these conditions, such as Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) and Renewable Energy Directive (RED)“Europe must move from PowerPoint to implementation,” Lundstedt said.

In particular, to improve the competitiveness of zero-emission vehicles, “it is very important to continue working on carbon pricing,” Lundstedt said. “This is something that needs to happen to drive demand towards the right solution.”

From 2027, the EU will start putting a price on CO2 emissions from burning petrol and diesel, forcing oil producers to buy emissions certificates under a new carbon market system known as ETS2. This is intended to increase the demand for green alternatives.

Although the exact impact of petrol and diesel prices is still unknown, the threat of an unfair social burden recently caused Yasmin Fahimi, the leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions in Germany. the question the introduction of ETS2.

The European Parliament is voting on the Euro 7 regulation which only provides for reductions in emissions for buses and trucks

The European Parliament has given the green light to new EU rules to reduce emissions from cars, vans, buses, lorries and trailers. With 297 votes in favor, 190 against and 37 against, the Parliament approved the agreement. Lundstedt recognized that, “if it is to promote a sustainable society, it must be environmentally, socially, ethically and financially sustainable”, pointing out that higher CO2 taxes can be “balanced” by lower taxes elsewhere, e.g.

“But that’s a long debate, of course,” Volvo’s president and CEO said.

While he does not doubt the EU’s CO2 targets for new trucks, Lundstedt also warned against expecting a “hockey stick”-like adoption of zero-emission trucks.

In 2023, the second According to the industry association ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), diesel trucks still represented 95.7% of new truck registrations in Europe, while electric trucks represented 1.5% of the market, compared to 0.8% in 2022.

“We cannot expect (…) everything to be done by 2028-2029 and then have the expectation that suddenly the whole market will move to battery electricity or fuel cell electricity or hydrogen burning,” he said.

“I am not sitting on the right side. I’m just saying that we have the products and the equipment available and now we need to continue working with the entire value chain.”

(text by Donagh Cagney/Zoran Radosavljevic)

Law WHO original article.