News item | 05-12-2023 | 11:30
Six new countries are supporting a Dutch initiative for clean heavy road traffic. This concerns Colombia, Ghana, Iceland, Israel, Cape Verde and Papua New Guinea. It is the first time that African countries have also supported this Dutch initiative.
Today at the climate summit in Dubai, the six new countries signed the ambition that from 2040 all new trucks and buses in their country will drive without exhaust fumes. For example, electric or hydrogen. It is the next step towards completely clean and emission-free road transport by 2050. The total number of countries that have signed now stands at 33.
Cleaner and healthier
Trucks and buses are very important for the transport of goods and people. The Netherlands is a real transport country. But heavy transport also causes a lot of pollution. It produces more than a third of CO2 emissions and about 70% of nitrogen emissions from all road traffic worldwide, and produces many harmful gases that people inhale directly.
The Netherlands has agreed in the Climate Agreement that it wants all heavy road traffic to be clean by 2050. To achieve this, you must ensure that all new trucks on the road are clean by 2040 at the latest. The Netherlands launched an agreement for this in 2021, at the climate summit in Glasgow. 33 countries are now participating.
More and more countries are participating
State Secretary Heijnen (Infrastructure and Water Management): “At last year’s climate summit, the US supported the Dutch goal. That was a big step, because the US is the second country in the world in terms of the number of trucks on the road. This year, Ghana and Cape Verde, among others, are joining. I think this is important, because climate change is a global transition and the demand for mobility will grow rapidly in many African countries in the coming decades. I think it’s great to see that more and more countries are participating. In this way we stimulate the global market for emission-free trucks. This ultimately leads to more and cheaper supply for other transport operators who want to switch to electric trucks or hydrogen-powered trucks. We now have 33 countries participating, but I will continue to look for other countries to join, because the more trucks that no longer run on fossil fuels, the better.”
Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport in Ghana: “Freight transport on the African continent will double before 2050. Therefore, we must seek global cooperation to ensure this growth is sustainable. Governments must encourage and support the private sector with the right mix of policies and regulations to ensure we achieve our climate goals in the next decade. Ghana is proud to be one of the first African countries to join this global initiative and is ready to work with players from the industry to enable the transition.”
Global cooperation important
In addition to 33 countries, 115 states, banks, companies and truck builders are participating. Such as California and Quebec, DHL, Heineken, Scania, BYD, Siemens and since today also EVBox, VDL Bus & Coach, Fountain Fuel and the South African KDG Logistics. Countries, states and companies that support this initiative are part of a network in which a lot of knowledge is exchanged.
More cycling, less emissions
In Dubai, State Secretary Heijnen also announced that a Dutch initiative to increase global knowledge of cycling infrastructure will be expanded. Belgium and Luxembourg join the initiative to encourage bicycle use worldwide, and will also contribute financially. A fund will be set up for this next year.
Last year, six workshops were given in countries such as India, Ghana and Colombia. Next year there will be twelve, the year after that twice as many, and then again, and so on. The countries where a workshop will take place next year include: Mexico, Indonesia, Tonga, Kenya and South Africa.
In the workshops, Dutch cycling experts, together with local organizations and administrators, look at the bottlenecks in the cycling field. For example, we look at where cycle paths can be constructed and what funds can be tapped for this. And how employers can encourage cycling. For example, by providing bicycles to their employees, by building bicycle sheds and providing showers, for example.
State Secretary Heijnen: “If you want to make cities more sustainable, you should not only think about vehicles with engines, such as cars and trucks. The bicycle is an excellent substitute for short car journeys. And by encouraging cycling you can make a difference: children who can go to school because it is too far on foot and not by bike. Or adults who see a better job within reach because they can cycle there and thus support their family.”
More information
Participating countries in the MOU on heavy road traffic:
In addition to the Netherlands, Aruba, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Finland, Cape Verde, Liechtenstein, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, Ukraine , Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Scotland, Turkey, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, the United States, Wales and Switzerland.
Countries where cycling workshops were organized last year:
Dubai, India, Ghana, Colombia, Rwanda and Vietnam
Countries where cycling workshops and/or follow-up training are expected to be given next year (this list will be supplemented):
Colombia, Mexico, Chile, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa
For more information please contact:
Jaap Steensma (press officer) on 06-2110 1915.