Industry associations call for increasing maximum freight truck weight to save emissions

Increasing the admissible maximum weight of freight trucks from 40 to 44 tonnes could save “millions of truck rides” and reduce carbon emissions in Germany’s transport sector, the German Chemicals Industry Association (VCI) says in a press release. Together with 16 other industrial associations, the VCI has published a position paper aimed at “optimising” the admissible weight and contributing to Germany’s climate targets, the press release says. The VCI says traffic volumes are projected to increase by almost 40 percent by 2030, which made it necessary to use all possible options to keep the number of vehicles in check.

Read the press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW factsheet Road freight emissions in Germany and the dossier Cargo transport and the energy transition.