Brussels, 15/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - By 2020, average emissions of CO2 from new vans - currently 203 g/km in the EU - should fall to 147 g/km, the European Parliament confirmed in Strasbourg on Tuesday 14 January. A large majority of MEPs (552 for, 110 against and 12 abstentions) formally approved the trialogue agreement on the draft regulation setting out the modalities for applying limits imposed by the legislation in force on CO2 emissions from newly registered light commercial vehicles in the EU by 2020. The legislation (amendment of Regulation 510/2011) will not be definitively adopted (see EUROPE 10957) until the Council has also approved the agreement.
Holger Krahmer (ALDE, Germany) said negotiations had been tough. He welcomed the fact that the Parliament had not “yielded to any kind of pressure to change that target”, in force since 2011. He went on to add: “As the lifespan of light commercial vehicles is longer than that of passenger cars, it is appropriate for us to stick to the target that we set ourselves”.
Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for Climate Action, told MEPs that 147 g/km could be achieved and was not costly to implement if technology already available today is used.
To be more precise, the text provides for the target for maximum average emissions authorised for the entire fleet of vans registered in the EU of up to 2.610 tonnes unladen and 3.5 tonnes laden weight to be brought down to 175 g/km after 2017 and to 147 g/km by 2020. The objective will also apply to manufacturers producing more than 1,000 vehicles annually. Manufacturers exceeding the target will be liable to penalties.
The draft legislation also recognises that results should be better by 2025 but does not set a target beyond 2020. To achieve their targets, manufacturers may, until 2018, rely on the system of “premiums” or “super credits” which gives extra weighting to vehicles emitting less than 50 g/km of CO2, to encourage manufacturing innovation. This system, however, will not be renewed and will expire in 2018.
Recent studies have shown that the test protocol currently in force for measuring the environmental performance of cars contains loopholes that are exploited by manufacturers. The text of the draft legislation stipulates that the new World Light Duty Test Procedure (WLTP), defined by the UN and supposed to best reflect real driving conditions, should replace the current protocol and take effect as soon as possible, possibly in 2017 - an objective supported by the European Commission.
Rebecca Harms, Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group, bemoans the fact that there has been a missed opportunity to encourage, through legislation, cleaner and more fuel efficient vans not only in the interest of climate but also to allow users of light commercial vehicles to make savings. (AN/transl.jl)