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Methodology note on oil saving calculations for 'Stop the Oil Waste'

Sketch of a book (default image for publications

The following is the methodology note for the calculations used in T&E's original video 'Stop the Oil Waste', which details the waste from inefficient cars in Europe because of weakenings in proposed legislation. This waste is worth 35 billion EUR a year! The more fuel-efficient a car is, the cheaper it is to run. The European Parliament is currently deciding how fuel-efficient future cars in Europe should be. Weakening of the proposed car fuel-efficiency law (95 grams of CO2/km) will cause huge levels of oil waste and money.

Open letter to MEPs calling for a change in EU biofuels policy

This open letter, signed by a large group of civil society groups and NGOs, calls on Members of the European Parliament to make crucial changes to the EU biofuels policy. The policy is not only failing in its basic objective of cutting CO2 emissions from Europe's transport, but is also costing governments and taxpayers €10 billion in support every year.

Letter

Accounting for uncertainty: precautionary principle and indirect land-use change

This briefing paper by Tim Grabiel, senior lawyer at Defense Terre, centres on the precautionary principle and preventive action, two fundamental bedrocks of EU policy creation, and the need for them to be applied to the issue of indirect land-use change emissions from biofuels.

Briefing

Mitigating emissions from international aviation: the question of historical responsibility

One of the main arguments put forward by countries such as China, India and Brazil is that according to agreed principles under the UNFCCC 'developed' countries have the greater historical responsibility for their accumulative historical CO2 emissions. These developed countries should therefore act first to reduce emissions with developing countries having no obligation to act at this time. This presentation shows a different picture; aviation is a relatively new industry, with mass air travel only taking off in the 1970s. The list of top 20 historical aviation emitters includes China, Singapore, the UAE and Brazil suggesting that these countries also have a historical obligation to address aviation emissions. See below an array of data that set out the actual situation regarding historical responsibility for international aviation emissions.

Briefing

Manipulation of Fuel Economy Test Results by Carmakers: New Evidence and Solutions

A growing body of evidence shows the current test used to measure car fuel efficiency is outdated, unrepresentative of real-world driving and lax enough to allow carmakers to systematically manipulate official test results at the expense of consumers’ trust. European institutions are presently finalising a regulation to lower CO2 emissions from cars and vans in 2020. This has stimulated intense debate when and how a new official test should be introduced. This briefing informs this debate in the light of new evidence from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) that for the first time compares progress in official and real-world vehicle fuel efficiency on a brand-by-brand basis.

Briefing

Tar sands, heavy crudes, and the EU Fuel Quality Directive

The European Union’s fuel-quality directive currently proposes to assign a default emissions value to natural bitumen (oilsands) that is higher than the value for conventional crude oil, inrecognition of the increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the production and upgrading of oilsands.

Briefing

Environmental and economic impacts of FQD implementation

A new study by Carbon Matters and CE Delft shows that proper implementation of the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) with different values assigned to different types of unconventional fossil fuels, such as tar sands and oil shale, can shift investments away from these ultra-high carbon energy sources towards lower carbon ones, leading to global greenhouse gas savings. As such, the study underpins the need for keeping such differentiated values in the legislative proposal by the European Commission, which is currently subject to an impact assessment.

Consultant report

Saving lives, saving fuel: changing the face of European lorries

Three quarters of goods in the EU are carried by road. Whilst only 3 percent of vehicles, lorries account for 25 percent of road transport CO2 emissions in Europe. Over the past 20 years the fuel efficiency of lorries has hardly improved1 and lorries are also involved in a disproportionate number (18%) of fatal accidents. One reason for this poor track record is the very blunt, hence unsafe and unstreamlined, front end of Europe’s lorries. This briefing illustrates the urgent need for smarter design and the benefits of such a change.

Briefing

Low emission car measures under the EU’s CO2 regulations for passenger cars

In 2009, the EU set legally binding targets for new cars to emit on average 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer (g/km) by 2015 and 95g/km in 2020. The way the 2020 target will be met is presently being considered by the European Parliament and Council following a Commission proposal in 2012. The Commission proposed to reintroduce a system of “supercredits". Supercredits, which proponents say will encourage supply of ultra-low carbon vehicles, also allow carmakers to supply less fuel-efficient conventional cars, weakening the emission target. This paper outlines the potential effects of different proposals for supercredits on the 95g target to help inform policymakers. It is based upon the results of an independent analysis of the options by Ricardo-AEA.

Consultant report

Uneven returns? The economics of EU biofuels policy

Europe is reforming its biofuels policy due to concerns raised about its impact on global land use change patterns and global food markets. The negative environmental impacts of the biofuels policy have been well demonstrated, but what is less clear are the economic implications. T&E, the EEB, BirdLife Europe and IISD have therefore funded this report to evaluate the costs and the benefits of the EU’s biofuels policy and its implications for the EU governments and citizens, who are currently facing economic hardship.

Briefing

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