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.