Brussels, 10/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 10 March, the Council of Ministers of the EU adopted without debate the regulation on reducing CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by 2020. The final adoption of this text follows a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament, whose plenary session vote took place on 25 February 2014 (see EUROPE 11026).
This new regulation (defining “the terms and conditions for car manufacturers for reaching the 2020 target for CO2 emissions from new passenger cars”) lays down the conditions for the manufacturers to achieve the 2020 objective for CO2 emissions (95 grams of CO2/km) from new passenger cars. In 2020, for a phase-in period limited to one year, this target must be met by 95% of new cars sold, rising to 100% from the end of that year. The regulation also provides for the use of super-credits between 2020 and 2022 - in other words, incentives for car builders to develop new technologies and produce low-emission cars (less than 50 g of CO2/km). These super-credits will be limited to 7.5 g of CO2/km for the three-year period from 2020 to 2022. The European Commission will re-examine the regulation by the end of 2015, to define the objectives for post-2020. The regulation will enter into force on the third day following the one on which it is published in the Official Journal of the EU. It amends Regulation 443/2009 (“establishing performance standards for emissions from new passenger cars in the framework of the integrated Community approach to reducing CO2 emissions from light vehicles”).