Heavy trucks running on new energy will gradually replace diesel-fueled ones in the transportation of coal for power generation in Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, to help reduce carbon emissions in the city.

On Nov 18, a technology company that operates and coordinates the city's road transportation ordered 370 new energy heavy trucks, mainly to transport coal for nine power plants in Baotou.

The new trucks will reduce costs and carbon emissions, said Liang Jun, deputy general manager of China Huaneng Group's Baotou power plant.

"Traditionally, we need 400 heavy trucks powered by diesel every day (to transport coal)," he said. "Each replacement new energy heavy truck will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 132 metric tons a year. If we replace all the diesel trucks with new energy trucks, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 50,000 tons every year."

Thirty new energy vehicles will have been delivered by Tuesday, with the rest to be delivered next year.

Zhou Yawei, chief scientist at Beiben Trucks Group, the manufacturer of the new energy heavy trucks, said their adoption will lead green logistics development in the region and set a good example for the rest of the country.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, released an action plan last month aimed at seeing carbon dioxide emissions peak before 2030. The plan outlines key tasks to achieve that, with promoting green and low-carbon transportation one of the major tasks.

The plan will help promote a comprehensive transportation network, enhance multi-mode transportation, encourage more shipments by trains and ships, and reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions during transportation. It will also promote green logistics and improve efficiency.

Low-carbon modes of transportation, such as new energy vehicles and vessels, will be encouraged, and smart transportation, railway electrification and building more hydrogen stations for new energy cars will also be promoted.

In a speech delivered via video link at the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference last month, President Xi Jinping said, "More efforts are needed to foster a green and low-carbon way of transport, step up green infrastructural development, promote new energy, smart, digital and lightweight transport equipment, and encourage and advocate green travel, to make transport and travel more environmentally friendly and low-carbon."

The promotion of low-carbon green transport was written into the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for the transport sector released by the Ministry of Transport on Nov 18.

By 2025, the ministry will build about 100 model programs to encourage green freight delivery.

Wang Yang, vice-minister of transport, said the ministry has set a goal of greatly reducing carbon emissions while balancing development. It will boost the development of clean transport equipment and eliminate the use of high-emission vehicles, he wrote in an article.

"A majority of freight transportation in China is still via roads," Qin Yu, an associate professor from the Business School at the National University of Singapore, said in an email explaining constraints on rail freight capacity, adding that economic forces such as net transport costs via road or rail may also play a role.