233 states, banks, companies and truck manufacturers are supporting a Dutch initiative for clean heavy road transport. That is almost double compared to last year. For example, Maersk has joined. Two new countries are also participating: Mozambique and Ethiopia.
Director General Afke van Rijn (Environment and International Affairs) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management announced this today at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. She replaces State Secretary Chris Jansen (Public Transport and Environment) at the climate summit.
Trucks and buses are important for the transport of goods and people, but they also cause a lot of pollution. Despite the fact that trucks and buses represent only about 4% of road traffic worldwide, they consume more than 1/3 of the fuels and emit about 70% of the nitrogen from all road traffic.
Clean air does not respect national borders
Because CO2 emissions and clean air do not respect national borders, it is important that work is done worldwide to reduce harmful emissions. That is why the Netherlands – together with the NGO CALSTART at the Climate Summit in Glasgow in 2021 – launched the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles. Participating countries and other parties commit to the ambition that all new trucks and buses in their country or company will be zero-emission from 2040. These ambitions are necessary to achieve the climate goals.
Opportunities for the Netherlands
The Global MOU also creates opportunities for Dutch businesses. The Netherlands is one of the global leaders in the field of sustainable mobility. By working together internationally, we ensure that a strong signal is sent to make things more sustainable. This accelerates production and increases the supply of sustainable vehicles, making clean trucks and buses increasingly affordable compared to fossil alternatives.
Today at the climate summit in Azerbaijan, 2 new countries signed this ambition. 38 countries are now participating. The 38 countries that signed the Global MOU represent around 20% of the new trucks and buses that come onto the market worldwide and 39.5% of the global economy (GDP).
Endorsers
In addition to the 38 national governments, more than 200 other players such as states, banks, fleet owners and truck manufacturers have supported this ambition, including recently the Danish companies Maersk and DFDS, both of which own a large truck fleet. Dutch companies such as Heineken, Albert Heijn, Milence, Fastned and VDL have also already supported this initiative.
State Secretary Jansen (Public Transport and Environment): “It is great to see that the list of countries and other endorsers is expanding. This contributes to CO2 reduction, but certainly also offers great opportunities for Dutch businesses."
