Brussels, 17/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament, the Commission and the Council reached agreement in Strasbourg on 15 December on the October 2009 draft regulation on reducing CO2 emissions from new light utility vehicles registered in the EU.
The agreement will bring the average level of emissions per fleet of vehicles down to 175g /km by 2017. The long-term objective is to get down to 145g/km by 2020 and this is expected to be confirmed when the planned legislation is reviewed in 2013. Fines for manufacturers who fail to comply with the legislation will be €95 per gram above the limit set, as in the regulation on private cars.
The “super credits” system used as an incentive for vehicles with low CO2 emissions will be extended by two years, but the number of vehicles which can avail themselves of this credit will be limited to 25,000
Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard immediately hailed the agreement as a step forward. The regulation as agreed would make vans less polluting and will help achieve the overall target of reducing transport emissions, she stated. The 2020 target, she argued, would encourage innovation in the industry and allow manufacturers to take advantage of the shift to a low carbon economy. It would also save fuel for consumers, she said.
Greenpeace inveighed against this “behind closed doors” agreement. In a press release, it accused the car industry, with the support and backing of Germany, Italy and France, of succeeding in significantly weakening the legislation.
Initially, the Commission proposed reducing the average emissions level to 135g/km by 2020. (A.N./transl.rt)