History has proved the car industry wrong – don’t let it happen again! This briefing document compares the car industry's claims with the realities of setting stricter CO2 emissions targets for cars.
In July 2012 the European Commission published its proposal on fuel efficiency and CO2 standards for new cars in the year 2020 (Review of Regulation 443/2009). The Commission proposes to reduce fuel consumption of new cars by almost 30% by 2020 to 3,8 l/100km (or 95g CO2/km). This proposal is currently being discussed by the Council and the European Parliament and is of singular importance to Poland.Poland is a country with a rapidly growing car fleet and a equally growing thirst for oil.
This report provides new evidence and understanding on why there is a growing gap between the official fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of new passenger cars and vans, and that which is achieved by the same vehicles on the road. It demonstrates that the current (NEDC) test is outdated and unrepresentative of real-world driving and current vehicles, and that lax testing procedures are allowing car-makers to manipulate the official tests to produce unrealistically low results. The report also shows that the current supervision of testing and checks on production vehicles (to ensure these are equivalent to tested vehicles) are inconsistent and inadequate, with manufacturers paying the organisations undertaking and certifying the tests. The conclusion is that the current system for measuring car and van fuel economy and CO2 emissions is not fit for purpose and is in need to urgent updating.
New research by the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) highlights both the urgent need for concerted global action to address international aviation emissions and underlines the fact that all current and foreseen emissions reductions measures being promoted by industry and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will fall well short of those needed to prevent dangerous global warming.
In 2010 the EU reached an agreement on CO2 emission standards for light commercial vehicles (vans). The final outcome was a significant weakening of the initial Commission proposal of 135g CO2/km. Misinformation about technological potential and inflated cost estimates convinced policy makers that the proposed target levels had to be weakened. A study which was instrumental in influencing policy makers was the 2010 Aachen (IKA) study. It had been commissioned by the German ministry of economy to inform its position and concluded that CO2 emission reductions from vans are extremely difficult and very expensive. Despite the availability of new and more up-to-date studies, today the same study continues to be used to assert that 147g is an “over-ambitious” target.This briefing analyses how the IKA study came to its results and assesses the credibility of these results.
In July 2012 the Commission published its proposal to review Regulation 443/2009 which sets CO2 emission targets for new passenger cars. This proposal includes incentives for the sales of ultra-low carbon vehicles through so-called super credits. Germany has suggested significant changes to the Commission proposal. This briefing assesses the impact of the German proposals and compares them to other available solutions.
Under the Dutch biofuels obligation, fuel suppliers are required to include a minimum share of biofuels in their overall sales of road transport fuels: 4.25% in 2011 and 5% in 2012. From 2011 onwards they have also had to submit an annual report detailing the biofuels they sell on the Dutch market. The data from these various sources are then compiled by the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa), which publishes a selection of the results.
In July 2012 the Commission published its proposal to review Regulation 443/2009 which sets CO2 emission targets for new passenger cars. The Environment Committee leads the deliberations in the European Parliament and Thomas Ulmer (EPP) has been appointed rapporteur. This briefing appraises proposals within his report and quantifies how these could lead to a weakening of the target in excess of 10g, raising the target to more than 105g/km.
In July 2012 the Commission published its proposal to review Regulation 510/2011 which sets CO2 emission targets for new light commercial vehicles (vans). The Environment Committee leads the deliberations in the European Parliament and Holger Krahmer (ALDE) has been appointed rapporteur. This briefing appraises proposals within his report and quantifies how these could lead to a weakening of the target in excess of 10g, raising the target to more than 157g/km.
