Statement by Vivianne Heijnen, Minister for the Environment, on the Government Fleet Declaration
‘More and more electric cars, vans, buses and trucks are becoming available. In 2020, the Netherlands was one of four European countries where at least 25 per cent of all new cars sold were electric.’ This said Vivianne Heijnen, minister for the Environment at the side-event ‘Zero-emission fleet declaration at the COP27 in Egypt. ‘The goal is for all new trucks sold to be zero emission by 2040. The Declaration we’re presenting today will help us reach this goal by making sure that our procurement policy supports market efforts. In conclusion, I’m pleased to endorse the Zero-Emission Government Fleet Declaration. And I call on other countries to join us!’
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, my compliments to the United States for launching the Zero-Emission Government Fleet Declaration.
More and more electric cars, vans, buses and trucks are becoming available. In 2020, the Netherlands was one of four European countries where at least 25 per cent of all new cars sold were electric.
We all know that we have to do more if we want to reach our zero-emission goal. We urgently need to implement solutions to reduce carbon emissions from transport. Not tomorrow, but today!
By setting clear targets, developing policies and providing grants, governments have encouraged innovation by businesses and helped them market their new products.
Now is the time for all these solutions to be adopted on a large scale. We need to increase demand for zero-emission vehicles, allowing manufacturers to profit from economies of scale and bring down the prices.
We have an important tool at our disposal to help achieve this: our sustainable procurement policies.
In the EU we have ambitious legislation – the Clean Vehicle Directive – that will increase public procurement of sustainable and zero-emission vehicles.
In the Netherlands, we’ve agreed to make our government vehicle fleet 100 per cent zero emission by 2028. That’s a few years earlier than the 2035 target in the Declaration. Yes, it’s a challenging target, but I’m confident we’ll get there.
What’s more, all new public bus concessions will be zero emission from 2025. This is already having effect on the bus fleet in the Netherlands, with many zero-emission vehicles already on the road.
Last year, at COP26 in Glasgow, we launched the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- And Heavy-Duty Vehicles. Many countries have signed the Global MoU and several have endorsed the MoU. This clearly illustrates the ever-growing momentum for zero-emission goods transport. We need to shoulder our responsibility together and make a bigger impact.
The goal is for all new trucks sold to be zero emission by 2040. The Declaration we’re presenting today will help us reach this goal by making sure that our procurement policy supports market efforts.
In conclusion, I’m pleased to endorse the Zero-Emission Government Fleet Declaration. And I call on other countries to join us!
Thank you.