A number of European towns and civil society groups have urged the European Commission to give the sale of carbon-emitting buses a deadline of 2027. Among the 11 cities, Paris, Barcelona, Rotterdam, and Milan are those that want Brussels to create a sales goal that calls for the sale of entirely zero-emission buses across Europe. The authors of a letter to the European Commission assert that the EU must take steps to ensure that supply and demand are balanced if it is to achieve its carbon reduction goals.
According to James Nix, freight manager at the European Federation for Transport and Environment, urban areas and other interested parties from civil society have written to the Commission, requesting that 2027 be the year when all new urban bus services will be zero emission, which means they will either be electric or hydrogen. This is a really effective technique to boost the quantity of electric buses that cities want. In turn, this will result in lower prices. Many cities struggle with price, and increasing supply would bring down those levels.
A sales objective for the EU, according to Nix, will encourage firms to invest in manufacturing.
The fact that 23% of new urban buses in the bloc were zero-emissions vehicles in 2021—up from 16% in 2020—shows that a quick transition is possible in the appropriate circumstances. Every city in the Netherlands, along with 40 other towns globally, has already declared a goal of purchasing entirely zero-emission buses by 2025.
Virginijus Sinkeviius, the European Environment Commissioner, declined to commit to a 2027 target but said the idea of towns taking this initiative on their own is a move in the right direction.
First and foremost, this is about the example set for citizens. How then can anyone demand that citizens buy a clean car when the city is unable to supply clean air buses if cities lack the purchasing capacity to buy and assure clean mobility for citizens, asked Sinkeviius. This is necessary, in his opinion. This would set a good example for all citizens as a first step.
Later this year, when any potential deadlines will be revealed, the European Commission will disclose its recommendation on CO2 emission limits for heavy-duty vehicles, which includes buses and trucks.
