IRU has formally conveyed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen the united and peaceful protest of 5,302 transport operators and shippers from across the EU. They have signed an online petition opposing the Commission’s intention to introduce mandatory zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) purchasing targets.
In just a short time, 5,302 transport operators and shippers from across the EU signed the petition.
This unified call for workable decarbonisation represents a genuine cross-section of the EU’s mobility and logistics community, including SMEs, family-run companies, and large operators.
The petition, “Yes to greening, no to purchasing mandates”, is a peaceful protest. It’s not against the EU’s climate objectives; it’s against a policy instrument that operators and shippers believe will not deliver the intended results and will instead distort markets and harm businesses.
The petition reflects a pragmatic consensus: while the road transport and logistics sector is firmly committed to decarbonisation, mandatory purchasing quotas are disproportionate and unworkable so long as the enabling conditions are not in place. If the enabling conditions were in place, or are established in the future, a mandate would not be necessary because the demand for ZEVs would naturally scale up. (....)