EU wants public sector to lead in fighting smog from transport

The European Parliament, Council and Commission reached an agreement last night which sets out rules for the public sector to buy and use a sufficient amount of energy-efficient light and heavy duty vehicles with special regard to buses in public transport.

"Nearly two thirds of the emissions that make up smog come from transport. We must fight this. Europeans are tired of smog, the public sector needs clean, energy efficient buses, trucks and delivery vans, and European industry needs a long-term innovation impulse to keep up with global competition", said Andrzej Grzyb MEP who negotiated changes to the Directive on behalf of the Parliament on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road vehicles.

The agreement reached between the European Institutions will ensure that a certain proportion of vehicles - light-duty vehicles, trucks, buses - that are procured by the public sector should emit zero or low NOx and dusts that are the main causes of smog from transport. At the same time, the agreed solutions will reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere reducing the transport climate change impact.

"The public sector in particular, whether at central, local or regional level, should set a good example by buying low and zero-emission vehicles", stressed Grzyb.

One of the key achievements of the EPP Group was to assure that new provisions allow for greater flexibility in the selection of vehicles which are considered clean. Besides electricity and hydrogen, which are treated as a priority, these are, for example, LPG and biofuels and biogas.

"This is important because it will best promote clean transport and encourage the usage of new technologies such as electric vehicles and other alternative fuels vehicles. It will help us to better protect the climate and achieve goals we agreed on in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement", concluded Grzyb.