Briefing

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in Europe

Briefing Published 07 Sep 2022 Last modified 26 Apr 2023

13 min read

Photo: © Zsuzsanna Rózsa, My City EEA

Heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for approximately a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU. Emissions in this sector have increased every year since 2014, dropping only in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For trucks, the primary cause of this trend is a growing demand for freight transport. It is partly offset by the improved energy efficiency of road freight transport. To contribute to the goal of a climate-neutral EU, a combination of changes is needed, including faster improvements in energy efficiency, a shift to vehicles with lower emissions and/or more efficient transport modes.