A new report for the Commission suggests about a third of reported carbon dioxide emissions reductions from new cars since 2002 have not happened. T&E says this results in drivers being ‘cheated’ out of the benefits of lower fuel costs, as well as higher emissions of greenhouse gases.
A Japanese academic has developed an innovative way of making electric cars more attractive – having them charge their battery as they drive along the road. Based on the assumption that what is holding back electric cars is the need to carry an expensive and heavy battery that takes a long time to charge and then offers either a short distance or a low speed, Takashi Ohira at the Toyohashi University of Technology has built a 0.3%-scale electric car that picks up electricity from electrodes buried beneath the road surface as it drives along.
T&E’s Belgian member Inter-Environnement Wallonie (IEW) has warned that the EU law requiring car manufacturers to give information on CO2 emissions from new cars has no teeth. IEW has given up a four-year fight, during which it complained to the Commission on several occasions that car makers are blatantly ignoring directive 1999/94, which makes it obligatory to give fuel economy and emissions information where new cars are sold.
After three postponements (1), the Environment Committee of the European Parliament has voted for tighter future noise limits for vehicles. The standards of future noise limit values was accepted in a tight vote defeating an alternative proposal that would have allowed much louder sports cars, buses and trucks onto the road.
In the context of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) vote on a Commission proposal [COM (2011) 856] for a Regulation on the sound levels of motor vehicles, this new study from TNO, independent experts that advise the Commission on both noise and CO2 regulations, shows that synergies between making cars mo
The European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) is currently considering a Commission proposal [COM (2011) 856] for a Regulation on the sound levels of motor vehicles.
"The role of the Commission in advancing the road pricing agenda cannot be underestimated", T&E Director Jos Dings stated at the Conference on fair and efficient road pricing organised by the European Commission on 5 Dec:
Road pricing is progressing because the list of its advantages is impressive. No wonder ever more countries in Europe are choosing for road user charging, and we are having a conference about its future.
En 2009, l'UE a instauré des normes contraignantes pour la performance des véhicules particuliers neufs: 130 grammes de dioxyde de carbone (CO2) par kilomètre (g/km) d'ici à 2015 et 95 g/km d'ici à 2020. La proposition récente de la Commission établit les modalités de la réalisation de l’objectif de 2020. Cette proposition de règlementation a confirmé l’objectif de 95 g/km mais a réintroduit les super crédits (récompenses pour les ventes de véhicules à très faibles émissions de carbone), qui affaiblissent l'objectif.
Ce document souligne pourquoi et comment le marché des voitures à très faibles émissions de carbone devrait être soutenu sans qu'il faille pour autant sacrifier la recherche sur l'amélioration des voitures conventionnelles.
Le présent document et l’étude sur laquelle il se fonde apportent des éléments clés quant à l’impact sur l'emploi des véhicules à faibles émissions de carbone. Ils sont l'aboutissement d'une vaste revue de la littérature consacrée à la question réalisée par CE Delft.