On Tuesday 1 April in Strasbourg, the European Commission presented a targeted amendment to the regulation setting CO2 emission performance standards for new cars and vans. As announced in early March (see EUROPE 13591/12), this amendment introduces a flexibility measure concerning their CO2 emission targets between 2025 and 2027, as part of the Industrial Action Plan for the automotive sector (see EUROPE 13599/21).
This measure allows manufacturers’ compliance with the CO2 targets for 2025, 2026 and 2027 to be assessed over the entire three-year period by calculating the average of their performance, rather than annually. This will allow manufacturers to compensate for any excessive annual emissions by outperforming the target in the remaining year(s).
“Today’s additional compliance flexibility shows that we have listened, understood the concerns, and are taking action to address them, while maintaining our zero-emission targets”, commented Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate and Clean Growth. “Predictability in the sector is crucial for long-term investments”, he added.
The Commission calls on the co-legislators to reach an agreement on this amendment without delay to ensure predictability and certainty for the automotive industry and investors.
The EPP group in the European Parliament announced that it would be requesting an accelerated parliamentary procedure, and called on all political groups and Member States act immediately to prevent further job losses and maintain the competitiveness of the automotive industry.
“At a time when car factories are closing, and thousands of people fear for their jobs, multi-million euro fines from Brussels for car manufacturers would send the wrong signal that no one would understand”, said MEP Jens Gieseke (EPP, German) in a statement. “The Commission must deliver on its promise to review the fleet limits by the end of the year while ensuring full technological neutrality. The ban on combustion engines from 2035 onwards must be withdrawn, and CO2-neutral fuels must be taken into account”.
On the other side of the Chamber, the Greens/EFA expressed their dissatisfaction. “With its constant backtracking, the Commission is creating chaos and uncertainty. The 2025 fleet limits have been on the table since 2017, yet now, at the last minute, they’re being pushed aside”, said an annoyed Sara Matthieu (Greens/EFA, Belgian). In her view, this measure puts the long-term competitiveness of the European automotive industry at risk, penalises those who have complied with the rules and distorts competition.
Finally, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) welcomed the announcement, which “offers much-needed breathing room for car and van makers”. However, it believes that this measure “must be complimented by meaningful demand incentives and widespread charging infrastructure deployment in order to address the fundamental hurdles to the transformation”.
Read the amendment to the 2019/631 regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/g7a (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)