This decision, which has a direct impact on zero-emission logistics, is widely seen as a threat to progress towards sustainable and liveable cities.
Electric driving in Belgium, although increasingly popular due to its environmentally friendly nature, remains a road full challenges. Drivers are confronted with practical problems, in particular the limited availability of fast chargers along Belgian highways. Given the small size of the country, it is surprising and often frustrating that there is sometimes no fast charger within a radius of 60 kilometers. This leads to concerns about reaching the final destination without draining the battery. To increase the range of electric cars, experts recommend limiting the average speed on the highway to 90 km/h and turning off the air conditioning. Despite these measures, car charging remains a key concern, with a regular socket taking up to 10 hours to fully charge a car, unlike fast chargers which can do this in around half an hour.
In the Netherlands, the campaign “That's how you cycled” is running, which calls for the donation of disused children's bicycles. State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management has taken the initiative by developing the first children's bicycle to donate to the ANWB, as part of the Christmas special of this campaign. Together with ANWB Children's Bicycle Plan and Stichting Leergeld, the ministry aims to collect as many bicycles as possible for children from less fortunate families in the Netherlands. With a population where 20% over 6 years old rarely or never cycle, and where 1 in 10 people do not own a bicycle, this is a significant step to address the bicycle ownership discrepancy.
At the same time, the taxi industry has breathed a sigh of relief now that it has become clear that the previously announced start date for the reporting obligation of CO2 emissions has been postponed until July 1, 2024. The adjustment of this date gives organizations with 100 or more employees more time to prepare for the new regulations, whereby they must report on both business traffic and commuting traffic. their employees. Although this obligation applies to larger companies, there is also an option for voluntary participation, where the data of voluntary participants can be used for research purposes.
The preference for the train among business travelers for destinations within a radius of 400 kilometers are increasing, according to a recent study by Natuur & Milieu and the Coalition for Different Travel. Cities such as Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Hamburg, and Luxembourg were the top destinations for train travel in the period from June 2022 to July 2023. This trend, which results in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions per kilometer compared to air travel, is being supported by data from 22 large Dutch companies.
In the meantime, the recent decision of the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to extend the current exemption scheme for driving heavy electric vans with a B driving license only until July 1, 2024, has commotion provided in the Dutch mobility sector. This decision, which has a direct impact on zero-emission logistics, is widely seen as a threat to progress towards sustainable and liveable cities. The sector, including Transport & Logistiek Nederland (TLN), is calling for an extension of the scheme to make the necessary legislative adjustments. According to them, the safety of electric vans is not at risk, given previous pilots and RDW approvals.
