Freight transport: climate-neutral, electrified, reimagined | Umweltbundesamt

Not only is goods transport responsible for approximately one-third of greenhouse gas emissions of the entire transport sector in Germany, it is also forecast to grow by 46% by 2051 compared to 2019 after posting growth of 75% between 1991 and 2022. Without more effective measures to curb transport emissions, Germany’s climate goals will go unmet. Politicians and the private sector need to act now.

"Developments in goods transport clearly show that a shift in transport is urgently needed in order to achieve national climate targets,” said UBA President Dirk Messner.  “With the forecasted increase in freight transport, we will not achieve our climate targets without stronger action. Politicians and businesses should set the course for an environmentally sustainable freight sector. At the same time, we can all make a difference by thinking twice before making an online purchase."

Global and national environmental and climate protection measures in freight transport contribute to making the entire logistics sector, which employs more than three million people in Germany, fit for the future, enduringly efficient and more resilient.

A vision and more than 70 recommendations for measures

UBA’s brochure “Heavy Freight. Big Challenge. One Goal. - Environmentally sustainable freight transport: international, national, local” presents a vision for a sustainable goods transport by the year 2045. The brochure addresses decision makers in politics and business at the global, national and local level. More than 70 measures have been developed and compiled to help achieve this vision, focusing on electrification and modal shift in freight transport.

Guidelines regarding policy measures and regulations (i.e. CO₂ standards for new heavy-goods vehicles, quotas for alternative fuels) play a role, as do economic instruments that increase the price of transport CO₂ emissions or make access to emission allowances scarcer. Revenue generated in this manner could then be applied to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral freight and to remove barriers to modal shift, for example, i.e. financing rail infrastructure.

Electrification and modal shift as catalysts for sustainable logistics

Electrification is key to   making goods transport climate-neutral, resilient, low in emissions, affordable and intergenerationally just by 2045.  Batteries for powering lorries and inland navigation, catenaries for rail or potentially also for road transport, and fuels produced with renewable energies for international air or sea freight are examples of the technologies needed for the transition. Extensive electrification needs to be flanked by fuel-saving measures, lower energy demand, as well as a modal shift toward energy-efficient modes of transport like rail and inland navigation and away from road and aviation. This will enable the logistics sector to maximise its reliance on renewable energy.

Transport by rail is already largely electrified but needs to increase capacities. More flexibility can be achieved by furthering automatisation, digitalisation and strategic expansion. In inland shipping, self-driving shallow-draft electrified craft can deliver transport even at low water levels. Internationally, sea-going ships should be given preference to air freight where possible. Transporting goods by air is up to 200 times more harmful to the climate than by ship. Intermodal transport can be strengthened by creating transfer terminals and interchangeable systems.

Last but not least the quality of life around transport hubs in cities can be improved by employing cargo bikes and micro-depots for parcel delivery.

Another important aspect: transport avoidance

A modal shift coupled with electrified drivetrains and green fuels should be complemented by avoiding transports whenever possible. Digital solutions such as bundling shipments as well as focusing on repairable, regional and local products would also make a difference. Individual consumer choices play a crucial role. Political measures such as incentives for greener consumption can streamline processes, initiate change, and create acceptance within society. 

Discussing the UBA vision with the logistics industry

After compiling the above-mentioned vision and its measures and instruments a first draft was discussed with members of the logistics industry as well as representatives of the political and civil sectors. Eighteen colloquia and an expert workshop laid a foundation upon which the final draft of this brochure was created, culminating in its presentation at the UBA Forum “mobile & sustainable” on 12/13 June 2024.