Scania‘s executive vice president for commercial operations, Mathias Carlbaum, has confirmed the company‘s commitment to the Paris Agreement terms to curb global warming.

Speaking at the Electromobility Day at the UN‘s COP24 climate conference in Katowice, Poland, Carlbaum said climate change could not wait, and action needed to be taken now.

In keeping with its view of pathways to sustainable transport, Scania welcomes the European Commission‘s strategic long-term vision for a climate neutral economy by 2050. As noted by the Commission, Europe must accelerate the transition towards zero-emission mobility. Transport must become more energy-efficient and society needs to reduce its dependence on oil until its use is eventually phased out altogether, in favour of exclusively fossil-free fuels.

The Commission argued the European Union needs a comprehensive regulatory framework comprising action on clean technologies through improved emission standards, and the deployment of low-carbon fuels.

“Given the sense of urgency, we can‘t continue to emit fossil carbon for 10 more years,” Carlbaum said. “We need to quickly deploy the solutions for CO2-free transport that are already at hand.”

In the coming decade, heavy vehicles will increasingly be electrified, initially as hybrids. Meanwhile, e-highways offer a highly promising carbon-reduction pathway. Scania is involved in projects in Sweden, Germany and Italy.

However, it is not expected that electrified heavy transports will be fully technically and commercially viable for another 10 years, so to succeed in fulfilling the Paris Agreement climate goals, use of sustainable biofuels must increase.

Scania‘s vehicles can operate on all commercially available renewable biofuels, which means carbon emission reductions of up 90 percent.

“The widespread proliferation of bioenergy is realistic and has a significant potential,” Carlbaum told the conference.

“Ethanol, biogas and biodiesel all have the advantage of contributing to a regional circular economy, reducing CO2emissions, increasing energy security and creating local jobs.”

Carlbaum also emphasised the need for new partnerships, creating the right conditions along the value chain together with customers and customers‘ customers.

“Agriculture, forestry and waste handling all have a potential to contribute to the production of bioenergy. The development of infrastructure and, not the least, political frameworks all need to go hand in hand.”