European Commission set to propose binding 95g/km new car CO2 target for 2020; 147g/km for vans
Fri 08 June 2012
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The European Commission looks set to propose a tighter binding emissions standard for new European cars according to recent reports. The proposal which, according to Reuters, is likely to be made public in July will recommend a binding 95g/km CO2 target for 2020.
Up to now, 95g/km has been a provisional, non-binding target and compares with a binding target of 130g/km set for 2015.The proposal is reported to say that fines for non-compliance would be kept at existing levels of 95 euros for every gram over target per vehicle.
The draft also proposes setting long-term CO2 standards for new passenger cars for 2025 and 2030 by Dec. 31, 2014 at the latest, if such further targets are then deemed appropriate.
The European Commission also looks set to follow tighter emissions limits for cars with a similar strengthening of emissions standards for vans. A draft document, also seen by the news agency Reuters, indicates that emissions from new vans could be limited to 147g of CO2 per kilometre by 2020, which would follow on from an existing goal of 175g/km by 2017.
An impact assessment on the proposed new law for cars (reported by Reuters) says a roughly 25 percent reduction in car and van fuel consumption would save an estimated 25 billion euros ($31.2 billion) per year. It also says estimated fuel savings from implementing the 2020 target would more than compensate for the expected cost of compliance. For the average motorist, fuel savings of around 500 euros per year would stem from the 95 gram target in 2020, based on a driving distance of 20,000 km per year and a fuel cost of 1.4 euros per litre.
Some industry representatives have said tougher binding standards would be extremely challenging.
Others, such as the German automobile club ADAC, have said they are achievable and would help to make the 27-country European Union's struggling car industry more competitive as international rivals catch up with environmental standards.
Transport & Environment (T&E), the Brussels-based sustainable transport campaigners, warn that the 95g/km target will not be enough to ensure Europe holds on to its leadership position in fuel saving technologies.
Greg Archer, Programme Manager at T&E said: "Tighter CO2 standards for cars will be welcomed by drivers across Europe who will save €500 per year at the pump on average if this proposal is adopted. But drivers have also been short-changed: tightening the 2020 target to 80g CO2/km would have saved them a further €150 a year.”
“The biggest problem with this proposal is the absence of a vision for progress beyond 2020. This is going to erode the leadership the European automotive industry has achieved. Thanks to new rules put in place by the U.S administration, the typical American car by 2025 will include more advanced technologies for fuel efficiency than the average European vehicle. There is a real danger that Europe is going to lose its competitive edge in low carbon vehicles if suppliers don’t get the investment certainty needed to develop advanced technologies.”
T&E says the market for next generation electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will also be stalled by the absence of challenging targets for 2020 and beyond.
In recent years, carmakers have consistently claimed that regulatory targets for CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency would make cars ‘unaffordable’. T&E says those claims are unfounded.
"Last time the EU set a CO2 standard for new vehicles, carmakers whined that cars would become unaffordable. That didn't happen, car prices came down in real terms and consumers have benefited considerably from improved fuel efficiency. There is no doubt that legislation provides a massive boost to innovation, and costs fall over time. The EU should be bolder this time around," said Archer.
According to a briefing prepared for Greenpeace, drivers in the UK currently pay an average of £1,731 in annual fuel costs. If the 95g CO2/km is achieved by 2020 motoring costs will go down by 23% to £1,335.
If EU governments decide to tighten the target to no more than 60g CO2/km by 2025, fuel costs will drop by 60% to £685 by 2030, five years after the target is met and fuel saving improvements have become more common.
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