This study, by consultancy CE Delft, concludes that advanced fuel and emissions monitoring of large ships could help save owners and operators up to €9 million per year. These savings would come from the lower operational costs of using automated systems such as fuel flow meters or continuous emissions monitoring, which would monitor, report and verify ship emissions and fuel-burn more efficiently.
In 2009, the EU revised the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) and set out a new target in its Article 7a to reduce the carbon intensity (CO2 emissions) of road transport fuels by 6% between 2010 and 2020. However, in the absence of implementation provisions this target is still not in force – 4 years on. We are concerned that Europe’s oil supply is in fact “recarbonising” – despite the FQD target. Without further action, the EU will increase its use of fuels produced from tar sands and oil shale, according to the Commission’s Impact Assessment study.
This analysis, shared in April stakeholder meetings in 2013 by the Commission, looks at regulatory options and financial and greenhouse gas impacts of implementation of the reporting methods of the Fuel Quality Directive. The Fuel Quality Directive was introduced to EU law in 2009, and aims to reduce the carbon intensity of Europe's transport fuel by 6% by 2020. The implementation measures (how the law will be implemented) of the Directive, however, still haven't been released.
Overloading of lorries is one of the most common infringements found in road freight transport: One in three lorries controlled is overloaded by 10% or even 20% over safe legal weight limits. This poses serious problems to infrastructure, road safety and the environment.
Ahead of the publication of the EU's Climate and Energy Strategy for 2030, civil society organisations and industry wrote to Commission President José Manuel Barroso urging him to maintain the Fuel Quality Directive as an important tool in the post-2020 decarbonisation framework. They called on the Commission to produce a proper impact assessment and initiate a public consultation on how this policy should be improved and continued.