Heavy trucks likely not zero-emission in the near future

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Without political measures for zero-emission technologies, a significant proportion of heavy goods vehicles will still run on diesel in 2035. This result is shown in a new ETH Zurich study on the decarbonisation of truck traffic. Without political incentives, heavy goods vehicles will probably continue to run on diesel in the future. (Photograph: Colourbox) What will power lorries in the future? Climate-damaging diesel, or emission-free technologies such as batteries or hydrogen? Whether the international community achieves the Paris climate target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 also depends on whether it succeeds in decarbonising heavy goods traffic. This is because these account for almost one-third of annual global emissions in the transport sector, which is responsible for around one-fifth of CO₂ emissions worldwide. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a model to investigate which technologies will prevail in truck traffic by 2035. The results are sobering: a large proportion of heavy lorries will continue to be powered by diesel or liquefied natural gas (LNG).