On 16 February 2016, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) welcomed some 240 guests to its ‘Reducing CO2 from road transport together’ conference in Brussels, dedicated to the heavy-duty vehicle sector.
Speaking to a packed room, ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert reiterated in his opening address that “every single manufacturer is committed to further reducing CO2 emissions”. Subsequently Martin Lundstedt – Chairman of ACEA’s Commercial Vehicle Board and CEO of Volvo Group – took the stage.
Mr Lundstedt presented the results of a study by Transport & Mobility Leuven on the potential of an integrated approach, now fully confirmed by a consortium of 16 road transport stakeholders. The validated report shows that, when compared with a ‘new vehicle only’ approach, the annual CO2 reduction rate from trucks could be doubled to up to 3.5% by looking at other factors that determine CO2 emissions, besides the vehicle alone. “Based on the findings, we are advocating a far more ambitious vision that will look at the big picture,” Lundstedt said.
In order to truly reflect the integrated approach, the event sought to bring all relevant stakeholders together. Keynote speeches were made by Marjolijn Sonnema of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment and Wim van de Camp MEP.
After that, moderator Jacki Davis was joined on stage by a policy maker, a truck manufacturer, as well as representatives of the fuels industry, the road sector and road transport operators for a lively panel discussion on “How can we best work together to reduce CO2 emissions from road transport?”.
Before this inspiring morning came to an end, Martin Lundstedt discussed the end-user perspective with Harld Peters of UPS.
The ‘Reducing CO2 from road transport together’ event proved to a perfect opportunity for the various stakeholders to reconfirm their commitment to further reducing CO2 emissions by working together, as well as to identify the best common solutions for meeting Europe’s climate change ambitions within the context of an integrated approach.
