Driving Cleaner Freight Along Cross-Border Transport Corridors

by Climate and Clean Air Secretariat (CCAC) - 3 September, 2025

In recent years, the transport sector has made significant strides in cleaning up passenger vehicles and two- and three-wheelers. Freight transport, however, remains a stubborn holdout. Without decisive action, road freight emissions could surpass those from all other transport modes combined by 2040—making it one of the few areas where emissions are still on the rise. The global transition to electric trucks is gathering pace, with medium-sized models already outcompeting diesel in some major markets and heavy-duty versions expected to follow by the late 2020s. For developing countries, this shift brings two interconnected challenges: a looming influx of newer diesel trucks as electric adoption grows in wealthier markets, and, within a decade, the arrival of secondhand electric trucks—requiring substantial investment in charging infrastructure to keep pace.

Planning for the diesel influx

Countries are getting ahead of the curve by phasing out the dirtiest vehicles and upgrading fleets over time. This approach addresses both ends of the supply chain: supporting importing countries to enforce age limits on used trucks and urging exporting nations to restrict the sale of their oldest, most polluting vehicles. The impact is regional as much as national. In the typical trade cascade, wealthier countries sell used trucks to middle-income markets, which eventually pass them on to the poorest nations. Removing high-emitting vehicles earlier in this chain ensures they never reach markets least equipped to regulate them. UNEP is supporting countries to carefully design regulations—with CCAC’s support—to narrow the cost gap between diesel and electric trucks, smoothing the transition without destabilizing livelihoods or economies.

Implementer Highlight: Smart Freight Centre

The Smart Freight Centre has emerged as a leader in cutting freight emissions, founding the Global Logistics Council and creating a standardised method for tracking emissions across the logistics sector. In India, it worked with the private sector to form shipping councils, harmonise emissions accounting, and train companies to use these data-driven insights to improve fleet efficiency. The work extended all the way to the drivers’ seats: direct engagement with truck drivers introduced eco-driving techniques that reduced emissions by up to 30 percent. The success of this model has spurred replication in other countries and regions, proving that targeted interventions at both the systemic and operational levels can deliver rapid gains.

Targeting high-impact trade routes

With CCAC support, UNEP is piloting a green freight model along the Northern Corridor—a major trade artery linking the Port of Mombasa to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cross-boundary action – in this case, at the corridor level – is essential because freight often operates far from its country of purchase.

In addition to the reduction in atmospheric pollutants, addressing freight emissions also has immediate public health benefits: In East Africa’s two primary freight corridors, decades-old trucks routinely pass through densely populated towns and cities, bringing with them emissions from exhaust, brake and tyre dust, and prolonged idling. Near the Port of Mombasa, some of the oldest vehicles run short-haul urban routes—pollution hotspots where UNEP is exploring an electric truck pilot to cut emissions in one of the corridor’s most heavily trafficked zones.

Cross-border solutions for cross-border challenges

Freight does not stop at national borders—and neither do its emissions. Along the Northern Corridor, a single truck might cross three or four countries in a week, burning fuel and releasing pollutants in every jurisdiction it passes. Trucks purchased in one country can spend most of their working lives elsewhere: for example, a 35-year-old truck bought in Uganda may operate mainly in Kenya. Isolated national policies cannot address this reality; if one country tightens standards but its neighbor does not, old, dirty will still operate within its borders, undermining progress.

CCAC’s transboundary mandate allowed UNEP to partner with the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) to integrate environmental and pollutant standards into regional freight regulations, producing the Green Freight Strategy 2030. This coordinated plan covers all six member states along the corridor, targeting a ten percent improvement in freight fuel efficiency, a twelve percent cut in particulate matter, black carbon, and nitrogen oxides, and a ten percent reduction in CO₂ emissions intensity by 2030. It also aims to train more than one thousand drivers in eco-driving techniques and prepare the route for electric truck adoption through pilots and feasibility studies. These measures are about more than cleaner air—they are about public health, economic resilience, and regional equity. By 2050, the strategy envisions a net-zero freight corridor, setting a precedent for trade routes across the developing world.

Inspiring action beyond Africa

When the Northern Corridor strategy was presented at the 2024 CCAC Annual Meeting, it caught the attention of Latin American delegates, who saw its potential for their own freight corridors. That momentum quickly evolved into the CCAC-funded Bi-Oceanic Corridor project, which is now guiding an emerging trade route in developing its own Green Freight Strategy and harmonised emissions standards. From Mombasa’s busy port to new trade routes spanning Latin America, CCAC is helping countries use this moment to transform freight transport—planning ahead, addressing pollution hotspots, and fostering regional cooperation so that the global shift to electric trucks benefits the climate, economies, and public health alike.