
Trucks
Transport
Road freight is responsible for about 6 percent of global emissions. Increasing fuel efficiency in both new trucks and existing fleets can significantly reduce emissions.
Rank and results by 2050 #40
Trucks
Reduced CO2: | 6 gigatons |
---|---|
Net cost (Billions US$): | $543.54 |
Net operational savings: | $2,781.63 billion |
TOTAL CO2-EQ REDUCTION (GT)
Total CO2-equivalent reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gases by 2050 (gigatons)
NET COST (billions US $)
Net cost to implement
SAVINGS (billions US $)
Net savings by 2050
Impact:
If adoption of fuel-saving technologies grows from 2 percent to 85 percent of trucks by 2050, this solution can deliver 6.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions reductions. An investment of $544 billion to implement could save $2.8 trillion on fuel costs over thirty years.

Trucks
Transport
Road freight is responsible for about 6 percent of global emissions. Increasing fuel efficiency in both new trucks and existing fleets can significantly reduce emissions.
The impact of trucks on greenhouse gas emissions is oversized. Comprising just over 4 percent of vehicles in the United States and 9 percent of total mileage, they consume more than 25 percent of fuel—50 billion gallons of diesel each year. Worldwide, road freight is responsible for about 6 percent of all emissions, and growing.
There are two tracks for increasing fuel efficiency: (1) building it into the design of new trucks and (2) driving it up in rigs already on the road.
New models are sporting:
better engines and aerodynamics,
lighter weights,
less rolling resistance for tires,
hybridization, and
automatic engine shutdown.
Based on 2010 U.S. prices, investing in these modernizations for a new truck can cost around $30,000, but save almost that much in fuel costs per year.
Because tractor-trailers remain on the road for many years, addressing the efficiency of existing fleets is critical. An array of measures can trim energy waste and increase fuel performance, such as anti-idling devices, upgrades that improve aerodynamics and reduce rolling resistance, and automatic cruise-control devices. Added up, they can make a significant dent in fuel use and costs.