The Feasibility of Achieving Objectives of the Euro 7 Standards in the Baltic Countries

Abstract Today, the concept of sustainability covers an increasing number of business areas. The transport sector is one of the largest contributors to air pollution in the world today but still plays a fundamental role in Europe’s economic growth. Finding the optimum balance between achieving sustainability objectives and boosting the performance of the transport sector is essential to avoid undermining Europe’s economic activity and growth prospects. One of the main tools for promoting environmental, social and economic sustainability is the EURO 7 standards, which have the most significant impact on the transport sector, and which aim to minimise carbon emissions by phasing out the production of combustion-engined cars by 2035, set stricter emission standards and introduce various emission control mechanisms. Each EU country has ambitious carbon minimisation goals. However, the current vehicle fleet structure analysis of the EU countries shows negative past and future trends in terms of sustainability factors. The goal of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of achieving the carbon minimisation objectives of the EURO 7 standards in the Baltic countries within the timeframe set. In order to achieve this goal, the structure of the Baltic countries vehicle fleets was analysed in terms of sustainability parameters and the transport sector expert forecasts of achieving the carbon minimisation objectives of the EURO 7 standards in the Baltic countries were collected.