Landmark commitment at COP26: Countries, subnational governments, vehicle manufacturers and fleets target 100% zero-emission new truck and bus sales by 2040

CALSTART’s Drive to ZeroTM program and campaign, working in collaboration with the government of the Netherlands, is proud to report that 15 countries committed to 100% zero-emission new truck and bus sales by 2040. Under the recently announced Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Wales also set an interim goal of 30% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030.

In recognition of the climate crisis and the important role zero-emission trucks and buses can play in lowering emissions, in a coordinated effort, top manufacturers and fleets – like Scania, DHL, and Heineken – agreed to work toward the same 2030 and 2040 zero-emission truck and bus targets. For the first time, leading governments and industry are aligned on a pathway toward reaching 100% zero-emission new truck and bus sales by 2040, in line to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

This announcement – along with the COP26 Declaration on  zero-emission cars and vans was unveiled at COP26 in Glasgow.

ACCELERATING THE ZEV TRANSITION: A ONE-WAY STREET

In the dialogue immediately following the two announcements, CALSTART’s Bill Van Amburg and Climate Champion Nigel Topping led two panels with leading governments and industry representatives.

Panelists described why they are committed to being first-movers toward a zero-emission transport sector and how their countries or companies will benefit. Participants included Trudy Harrison, the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport; Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars; Anabel Diaz, EMEA Regional General Manager, Uber; Liane Randolph, Chair of the California Air Resources Board; Christian Levin, CEO of Scania; and Orhan Solak, Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change for the nation of Turkey.

Watch the announcement and discussion here.

And, this is just the beginning.

CALSTART and the Netherlands are continuing bilateral discussions with a number of countries and hope to announce additional signers to the new landmark MOU in 2022.

Watch our video on the new MOU, the ambition and the public and private leadership behind it (new video).

FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT

CALSTART’s Alycia Gilde led an all-female panel discussion featuring experts from the international road freight sector, including government, policy, vehicle manufacturers and goods retailers, to build a collective understanding of the policies and best practices needed to overcome the barriers to enable an efficient transition to zero-emission vehicles in road freight. Participants included Angela Hultberg, Head of Sustainable Mobility at Ingka Group (IKEA) and Road Transport Lead, Climate Champions;  Cynthia Williams, Global Director, Sustainability, Homologation and Compliance, Ford Motors; Mary Nichols, former Chair of the California Air and Resources Board; Rachel Muncrief, Deputy Director, International Council for Clean Transportation; and Trudy Harrison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Department for Transport, UK.

Video of the event can be found here.

ALIGNING INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR A ZERO-EMISSION MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLE FUTURE

CALSTART’S Bill Van Amburg and Alycia Gilde moderated a discussion on industry and government collaboration to achieve short-term and long-term goals on the road to a zero-emission transport future. Recognizing the critical importance of industry and subnational government participation to reaching net zero by 2050, this session focused on shared commitments, actions, and opportunities to speed ZE-MHDV deployment. Participants included Dan Dorner, Head of Secretariat, Clean Energy Ministerial; Herman Sips, Government of the Netherlands; Cristiano Façanha, Global Director, CALSTART; Avinash Rugoobur, President, Arrival; Sydney Vergis, Division Chief – Mobile Source Control Division, California Air Resources Board; and Volker Ratzmann, Executive Vice President, DHL.

Video of the event can be found here.

NEW TOOLS UNVEILED

In coordination with the new MOU announcement, CALSTART unveiled a number of new tools at COP26.

The new Global MOU Policy Tracker Dashboard catalogs national-level policy aimed at accelerating the ZE-MHDV segment in 14 leading nations including the United States, China, India, Canada, the UK and more. As new policies are adopted, the online tool will grow to reflect these new developments.

The ZET Global Expo Digital Hub – a new online resource that showcases the strong reality and capability of ZET technology today – is also now online at globaldrivetozero.org. The hub highlights the ZET models – representing a large array of uses – that are available for purchase globally. Additionally, the hub highlights the climate, air quality, economic and operational value of ZETs and features video content from top manufacturers. The ZET Global Expo digital hub will grow and expand as new ZETs come to market.

Updated: GlobalDrivetoZero.org

Take a moment to visit our newly updated website, to get a complete picture of the historic MOU announcement. And, if you would like to become one of the leading public or private sector innovators supporting the new MOU, please become an endorser today.

Dr. Cristiano Façanha is CALSTART’s Global Director. He leads the Drive to Zero program and campaign.