IRU, the world road transport organisation, stressed the importance of an operationally grounded template to make decarbonisation reporting more consistent, usable and clear-cut for industry and governments alike at a recent UNECE roundtable.
The 37th session of the UNECE Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics focused on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) template. NDC aims to help countries report and strengthen inland-transport climate measures under the 2015 Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
IRU Policy Adviser Clara Sanchez Lopez presented a case study using an in-house IRU modelling tool to simulate a refrigerated haul between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Key findings include:
- An electric truck, on its own, loses about 90% of its battery capacity while idling at a border checkpoint (cooling unit and cabin air conditioning demands), making a battery-only solution unfeasible for that specific operational profile.
- Operational changes – faster border crossings using the UN-backed TIR transit system, aerodynamic improvements, better tyres and lubricants – reduce a diesel truck’s CO₂ emissions by up to 86%.
- Combining the above operational improvements with an electric truck – alongside reducing border waiting times by up to 90% – results in around a 95% reduction in full-cycle vehicle emissions.
This case study demonstrates why efficiency measures go hand in hand with alternative fuel vehicles. It also highlights the importance of tailoring solutions to operational and local realities before committing to capital-intensive fleet changes. IRU can help governments produce accurate, pragmatic national decarbonisation roadmaps that include:
- Mode-sensitive reporting: Ensuring the NDC template allows disaggregation by mode and sub-mode, making targets and measures clear and actionable.
- SME reality: Recognising that many transport operators are SMEs, reporting templates and policy measures should account for their capacities and constraints.
- Policy mix: Supporting policies that combine immediate, deployable efficiency gains with long-term fuel and vehicle transitions.
IRU looks forward to continue supporting governments and the road transport industry to translate decarbonisation ambition into implementation.