9 Carbon dioxide emissions from new
light commercial vehicles
| (31093)
15317/09
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(09) 593
| Draft Regulation setting emissions standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
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| Legal base | Article 175EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 24 March 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 5-iv (2009-10), chapter 5 (15 December 2009)
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| To be discussed in Council | See para 9.7 below
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
9.1 Because of the large (and increasing) contribution which
carbon dioxide from vehicles makes to overall emissions of greenhouse
gases, the Community has taken a number of measures to address
this issue. These include voluntary agreements with European,
Japanese and Korean manufacturers aimed at reducing the level
of such emissions from new cars, in addition to which the European
Council has endorsed a target of 120g/km by 2012, whilst the Commission's
Energy Efficiency Plan[17]
said that it would if necessary propose in 2007 legislation to
ensure that target is achieved.
9.2 The Commission duly put forward in December
2007 a draft proposal[18]
— since adopted as Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 — specifying
that the average specific emissions of new passenger cars should
not exceed 130g/km[19]
as from 2012, and this was followed in October 2009 by the current
document which proposed a corresponding restriction in relation
to light commercial vehicles. The proposal would set a mandatory
target of 175g/km for vehicles of category N1[20]
from 2014 (with 75% of a manufacturer's registrations being taken
into account in 2014, 80% in 2015, and full compliance required
from 2016), and there would also be an overall longer-term target
of 135g/km for 2020, subject to a review before 1 January 2013
to confirm its feasibility. Consideration would also be given
before then to the feasibility of extending the measure to N2
and M2 vehicles,[21]
which had been excluded from the proposal as sufficient carbon
dioxide data was not available.
9.3 More specifically, the proposal would;
- set individual targets for
manufacturers according to the so-called "utility" of
their vehicles (which in practice is proportional to their mass);
- enable manufacturers to apply these targets to
the average of the emissions for all new cars they register in
the Community in each calendar year, and to credit up to 7g/km
for new off-cycle emission-saving technologies (such as low-energy
headlights) towards the targets;
- allow super-low emitting vans to be counted as
multiples[22] of their
actual sales, so lowering the manufacturer's recorded emissions
and encouraging the development of these vehicles;
- allow different manufacturers to form, for a
period up to five years, a pool, which would be treated as if
it was one manufacturer for the purpose of determining compliance
with the targets;
- require a manufacturer which fails to meet its
target to pay an excess emissions premium, with the proceeds being
considered as revenue for the Community budget; and
- provide for estimations of emissions from multi-stage
vehicles involving different manufacturers to be reached from
those of whole vehicles made by the base manufacturer.
Certain categories of "special purpose"
vehicles, such as emergency vehicles, or those with wheelchair
accessibility, would be exempted from the proposals, and smaller,
independent manufacturers registering fewer than 22,000 new light
commercial vehicles a year would be able to apply to the Commission
for a lower target, provided this was consistent with its technical
potential to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.
9.4 As we noted in our Report of 15 December
2009, the Government supports the Commission's intention to legislate,
and considers that the proposal is justified on subsidiarity grounds
in relation to both environmental protection and the internal
market, adding that it explicitly identifies areas of national
competence (such as taxation) as complementary actions which individual
Member States could take to reduce emissions. Our Report also
recorded the Government's comments on specific aspects of the
proposal, including the emission target levels and dates; the
derogation for small-volume manufacturers; "pooling";
the definition of utility; the treatment of multi-stage vehicles;
and penalties.
9.5 We commented that, although the proposal
is based to a substantial extent on an earlier proposal relating
to cars (and now enacted in Regulation (EC) No 443/2009), it represented
a further stage in the Community's attempts to limit carbon dioxide
emissions from light duty vehicles, and we therefore thought it
right to draw it to the attention of the House. That said, we
noted that the Government would be producing an Impact Assessment
in the context of its public consultation, and we said that we
would consider the document further when that Assessment was available,
holding it under scrutiny in the meantime.
Minister's letter of 24 March 2010
9.6 We have now received from the Minister of
State at the Department for Transport (Sadiq Khan) a letter of
24 March 2010, enclosing an Impact Assessment which has been prepared
as part of the Government's consultation, which runs until 10
June 2010. This suggests that the annual cost of the proposal
as it stands (arising from the introduction of fuel-saving technology,
and the additional noise, other atmospheric pollution and additional
infrastructure needs which would arise if reduced fuel costs should
lead to an increase in the mileage driven) could be between £92
million and £183 million, whilst the annual benefits (arising
from reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and from a reduction
in driving costs resulting from greater fuel efficiency) could
be between £195 million and £221 million. The Assessment
also analyses the impact if an attempt were made to negotiate
certain changes — for example, deferring the full application
of the 175g/km target from 2016 to 2017 and 2018, reducing and/or
deferring the long-term target of 135g/km, using a different parameter
to define vehicle utility, and seeking a different penalty regime)
— the broad effect of these being to reduce both the costs
and benefits as compared with the Commission's proposal (though
in each case there would continue to be a net benefit).
9.7 The Minister also says that a number of Working
Party meetings have been held on the proposal, but that there
has been little progress towards a commonly-agreed text. There
was also an exchange of views at the Environment Council on 15
March, when many delegations broadly supported the proposed long-term
target of 135g CO2/km to be met in 2020, although the
UK strongly supports the need to subject this target to a review
and thorough Impact Assessment by 2013. The Minister says that
the Spanish Presidency sees this dossier as a priority, and that
it is possible it may seek to achieve a general approach at the
Environment Council on 21 June, although the proposal's complexities
mean that this may not be possible. He adds that discussion has
also begun recently in the European Parliament, with an initial
exchange of views in the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee, and a Plenary first reading currently scheduled for
October/November.
Conclusion
9.8 As we noted in our Report of 15 December
2009, this proposal relating to light commercial vehicles is similar
in form and intention to the measure applying to cars (and now
adopted as Regulation (EC) No 443/2009). The Government has also
made it clear that appropriate action regarding the transport
sector is a central element of the strategy which it — and
the EU — is pursuing to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
It now seems clear from the Impact Assessment which the Minister
has provided that, notwithstanding the uncertainties inherent
in figures of this kind, the proposal (and any likely variation
of it) is expected to produce a net benefit. In view of this,
we see no over-riding reason to keep the document under scrutiny,
and we are therefore clearing it.
17 (27944) 14349/06: see HC 41-ii (2006-07), chapter
8 (29 November 2006). Back
18
Category M1, as defined in Annex II of Directive 2007/46/EC, with
a mass not exceeding 2,610kg. Back
19
The remaining 10g/km would be achieved by a range of other measures. Back
20
As defined in Annex II of Directive/2007/46/EC, with a reference
mass not exceeding 2,610 kg. Back
21
N2 vehicles are small lorries designed for the carriage of goods,
and having a gross mass between 3500kg and 5000kg, whilst M2 vehicles
are minibuses with more than eight seats and with a gross mass
less than 5000kg. Back
22
A multiple of 2.5 would be used in 2014, and 1.5 in 2015. Back
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