Road freight transport emissions

A new high-tech laboratory for the control of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions of buses and trucks was inaugurated on March 13 at the Research Center of the European Commission in Ispra (province of Varese). The European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik, declared at the opening of the event: "The European Commission is fighting climate change by words and deed, based on independent and reliable scientific data. Today, the road freight transport in Europe reached 1888 billion tonne-km per year. If we increase the efficiency of trucks we can greatly reduce fuel consumption. The new structure of the Commission will give a significant contribution to the priorities that the Commission has set in these fields. " The plant, which is the most advanced in Europe and was called "VELA 7", was realized also with the contribution of the Lombardy Region, which invested 6 million euros in 4 years. It's dedicated exclusively to trucks, responsible for 23% of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) produced in the EU, despite representing only 3% of the vehicle fleet.
The main objective is to provide technical and scientific support to the European Commission strategies in this field by supporting the EU in the drafting and implementation of future measures. The work is carried out in collaboration with DG ENV, DG ENTR, DG TREN, DG SANCO, EU Member States and EU Candidate Countries, NGOs, industries and universities.