14 Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
from vehicles
| (32203)
16169/10
COM(10) 656
| Commission Report on implementation of the Community's integrated approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from light-duty vehicles
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 10 November 2010
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| Deposited in Parliament | 18 November 2010
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| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 9 December 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | None, but see footnotes
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
14.1 Because of the large (and increasing) contribution which
carbon dioxide from vehicles makes to overall emissions of greenhouse
gases, the EU has since 1995 had in place a strategy to address
this issue. Prior to 1997, this comprised three pillars —
voluntary agreements with European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers
aimed at reducing the level of such emissions from new cars to
140g/km; the provision of information to consumers; and fiscal
measures to promote the fuel-efficient use of cars.
14.2 However, as it had become clear that the reduction target
was unlikely to be met, the Commission put forward in February
2007 a Communication[64]
reviewing the strategy in this area. This suggested that additional
measures, including a legislative requirement for vehicles to
meet a target of 120g/km by 2012, were needed to complement the
measures which it has already proposed on fuel quality, with part
of this reduction (to 130g/km) being delivered by improvements
in vehicle technology, and the remaining 10g/km by a range of
other measures, notably minimum efficiency standards for air-conditioning
systems; the mandatory fitting of tyre pressure monitoring systems;
maximum tyre rolling resistance limits for passenger cars and
light commercial vehicles; the fitting of gear shift indicators;
mandatory targets for fuel efficiency in vans; and increased use
of biofuels.
14.3 The Commission also suggested other potential measures which
would not form part of the 120g/km legislative target, and which
would be either subject to other EU legislation, non-legislative
measures, or pursued by individual Member States. These included:
— Taxation
The Commission urged Member States to adopt as soon
as possible its earlier proposal[65]
for a Directive which would require them to base registration
taxes, such as Vehicle Excise Duty, increasingly on carbon dioxide
emission levels, and to adapt their taxation policies so as to
promote the purchase of fuel efficient cars. In the meantime,
it suggested that there should be a "Light-duty Environmentally
Enhanced Vehicle" for those which meet the emission standards
laid down.
— Consumer
labelling and information
The Commission said that it would put forward in
2007 a proposal to harmonise design of the existing mandatory
fuel efficiency label across the EU, and to extend its application
to vans, and it also suggested that manufacturers should agree
to a voluntary code of good-practice on marketing and advertising.
— Driver
behaviour
The Commission suggested that Member States should
be encouraged to promote fuel efficient driving ("eco driving"),
and that a requirement relating to this should be included in
future revisions of the Driving Licence Directive (91/439/EEC).
— Research
towards a lower long term emissions target
Commission said that it would support research towards
a 40% reduction in passenger car emissions of carbon dioxide.
The current document
14.4 In this document, the Commission has reported
on the various developments which have taken place since 2007.
EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS AND COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES
The voluntary agreements and 130g/km legislative
target
14.5 The Commission confirms that each of the car
industry associations missed its voluntary agreement target to
a greater or lesser degree, but that a legislative target of 130g/km
is now contained in Regulation 443/2009/EC. It notes that, after
a three year phase-in period, this will come fully into force
from 2015, with derogations for manufacturers under certain sales
volume thresholds, extra credits for very low-emitting vehicles
and emissions-reduction technologies, adding that (even taking
into account the phase-in) this means that the actual average
will be slightly above 130g/km. The Regulation also specifies
an average target of 95g/km in 2020 (subject to review by 2013),
and the Commission says that, according to the trajectory of average
emissions since 2000, the 130g/km target is on course to be met.
Air-conditioning
14.6 The Commission says that it held a consultation
on this in 2008, and will present a proposal in 2011.
Tyre pressure monitoring systems
14.7 The Commission notes that the General Safety
Regulation (661/2009/EC), which came into effect in 2009, requires
cars to be fitted with these systems to alert drivers when tyre
pressure drops by 20% below normal. The requirement will apply
to all new car models by November 2012 and to all new cars by
November 2014, and the Commission is currently discussing the
possibility of a more stringent requirement, to follow each of
these dates by three years.
Lower rolling-resistance tyres
14.8 The Commission says that the General Safety
Regulation also contains a rolling resistance requirement which
all new car models must meet by November 2013 and all new cars
by November 2014, with a second, more stringent phase coming into
effect in November 2017 and November 2018 respectively. In addition,
sellers of tyres for cars, buses and goods vehicles are required
from November 2012 to fix a label indicating relative energy efficiency
of the tyre, and the Commission says that, together, these measures
are expected to save 1.5-4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a
year across all vehicle types.
Gear-shift indicators
14.9 The Commission says that the General Safety
Regulation requires all new passenger car models to be equipped
with these devices by 2012 and all new cars by 2014, and that,
if this led to a 100% response rate from drivers, carbon dioxide
emissions from car use would be reduced by an estimated 6%.
Biofuels
14.10 The Commission says that biofuel use has been
addressed in more general legislation, notably the Renewable Energy
Directive (2009/28/EC), which requires Member States to ensure
that 10% of the total energy used in transport is sourced from
renewable sources by 2020, and the Fuel Quality Directive (2009/30/EC),
which requires suppliers of energy for use in road transport,
non-road mobile machinery, agricultural and forestry tractors,
and recreational craft to reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas
intensity of their fuel by 6% by 2020. It points out that the
share of biofuels in liquid fuels used for transport on the basis
of energy use rose from 2.7% in 2007 to 3.5% in 2008, and that,
leaving aside emissions arising from indirect land-use changes,
this has been calculated as an equivalent carbon dioxide emissions
reduction of 14 million tonnes.
G/km targets for light commercial vehicles
14.11 The Commission notes that it published in October
2009 a draft regulation[66]
setting a target of 175g/km for vans as from 2014, but that, as
with the equivalent measures for cars, this would be phased in,
with full compliance required only from 2016.
OTHER STRATEGY PILLARS
Consumer information and behaviour
14.12 The Commission says that progress on the various
strands of consumer information since 2007 has been incremental,
with Member States revising their labels towards a colour-coded
scheme and/or including information on emissions-related running
costs (and, in some cases, introducing voluntary codes of guidance
on car advertising). It also points out that in 2009 a Commission-backed
study examined potential information technology-based eco-driving
systems, which demonstrated a theoretical maximum emissions saving
of 15% (subject to the caveat that the saving actually achieved
would depend very heavily on driver behaviour). The report also
notes that the marginal returns from focusing on eco-driving are
likely to diminish in future, as automatic vehicle technologies
increasingly replace some of the behaviour currently dependent
on the driver.
Taxation
14.13 The Commission notes that Member States have
since 2007 increasingly introduced carbon dioxide-related elements
into their passenger car taxation systems, but that the proposal
it put forward in 2005 to require this has not progressed. Similarly,
a proposal in 2007 that existing EU fuel taxation legislation
should be amended to "reduce distortions" between Member
States in fuel duties has not been adopted.
NEXT STEPS
Mid-term action
14.14 The Commission suggests that all future legislative
proposals aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from new
passenger cars and light commercial vehicles should require such
reductions to be measurable, monitorable and accountable, and
it says that specific actions arising from the Clean and Energy
Efficient Vehicles strategy in the period 2010-2020 will include
a review of the modalities of reaching the 95g/km target for 2020
contained in the cars legislation, and possibly those for the
long-term target proposed in the draft regulation for light commercial
vehicles. In addition, the Commission says that it is committed
to proposing a new test-cycle to reflect more accurately actual
driving conditions, as well as the specific carbon dioxide emissions
and fuel consumption related to it. It adds that it is also planning
to look into the possibility of measurement and certification
of carbon dioxide emissions from heavy duty vehicles, and that,
if appropriate methods could be agreed, it will consider implementing
efficiency standards for such vehicles.
Long-term vision
14.15 The Commission says that its preliminary work
on decarbonisation issues over a longer time horizon indicates
that, in order to limit the global temperature increase by 2050
to 2°C, the range of domestic carbon dioxide reductions needed
from the EU economy will have to amount to roughly 70% compared
with 1990 levels. It points out that, although the transport sector
will have to make a significant contribution to the effort needed
to achieve this, its emissions have in fact increased by 26% since
1990, despite technological advances: and it suggests that, although
the strategy discussed in this report focuses primarily on vehicles
being placed on the market, it is also important to consider the
way in which they are subsequently used. It adds that, in order
to improve planning certainty whilst ensuring a continuing reduction
in emissions from light-duty vehicles, it envisages proposing
a target for passenger car emissions in 2025, and to consider
further reductions for light commercial vehicles.
The Government's view
14.16 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 9 December
2010, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department
for Transport (Mr Norman Baker) points out that, as regards the
new carbon dioxide targets for cars, Regulation 443/2009/EEC sets
out substantive provisions for the 2012 targets, but that many
of the finer details have been left to the comitology process,
and that the issues remaining to be resolved include a system
for crediting the contribution of innovative technologies and
the structure of the target for 2020. As regards the complementary
measures, he notes that none of these has yet had an impact on
in-use vehicle carbon dioxide emissions, with many not being fully
in effect until mid-decade at the earliest: and he points out
that, whilst these measures were expressly designed to achieve
a total reduction of 10g/km carbon dioxide equivalent, the Commission
has not stated how much each measure is expected to contribute,
or whether the 10g/km total is still considered likely to be met
from these measures. In particular, he says it is unclear whether
the inclusion of biofuels in this package risks double-counting
emissions savings already attributed under the relevant renewable
fuels legislation: in the meantime, he records that the share
of biofuels in UK road transport has risen (on a volume basis)
from 2.7% in 2007-2008 to 3.8% in 2008-2009.
14.17 As regards the other pillars of the strategy,
the Minister says that the Driving Standards Agency has integrated
eco-driving into the driving test to ensure that new drivers know
from the outset how to drive in a safe and efficient way, and
that the Government has also been working with the Energy Saving
Trust (EST) to provide short duration eco-driving training to
existing drivers, and has encouraged eco-driving (and the purchase
of more fuel-effective cars) through the 'Act on CO2'
campaign which ran from 2007 to 2010.
14.18 As regards future action, the Minister says
that the UK supports the principle of considering the targets
for light vehicles and alternative energy-use metrics beyond 2020,
and the extension of carbon dioxide regulation in some form to
heavy-duty vehicles, adding that, for the last of these, ensuring
an approach tailored to the particularities of this vehicle sector
will be crucial.
Conclusion
14.19 Much of the ground covered by this report,
including the legislative and other measures for reducing carbon
dioxide emissions from both passenger cars and light commercial
vehicles, is familiar, and does not require any further consideration.
However, given the extent to which this sector contributes to
overall greenhouse gas emissions within the EU, we think it right,
in clearing the document, to draw it to the attention of the House.
64 (28366) 6204/07: see HC 41-xvi (2006-07), chapter
10 (28 March 2007). Back
65
(26714) 11067/05: see HC 34-vi (2005-06), para 11 (19 October
2005) and HC 34-xi (2005-06), para 8 (23 November 2005). Back
66
(31093) 15317/09: see HC 5-iv (2009-10), chapter 5 (15 December
2009) and HC 5-xvi (2009-10), chapter 9 (30 March 2010). Back
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