Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2007)18 - Amendment of Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and the introduction of a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of road transport fuels and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC, as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2007)18 - Amendment of Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to ... |
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| source | COM(2007)18  |
| date | 31-01-2007 |
- Grounds for and objectives of the proposal
Directive 98/70/EC i established minimum specifications for petrol and diesel fuels for use in road and non-road mobile applications. These specifications were established for health and environmental reasons. This proposal for revision of Directive 98/70/EC will contribute to reducing air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from road and non-road fuel use and help to implement the Community strategies on air quality and on climate change. It will lead to lower emissions of particulate matter. It will also enable the use of higher volumes of biofuels while taking into consideration environmental and health requirements It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the fuels regulated.
The main reasons for reviewing the Directive stem from evolving fuel and engine technology and the growth in biofuel use. The Community air quality goals set in the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution and the continuing need to address Greenhouse Gas emissions are the other main factors influencing the need for revision of the Directive.
- General context
Directive 98/70/EC was last modified by Directive 2003/17/EC i. This modification only affected the sulphur limits for petrol and diesel set in the Directive. The continuing evolution of Community pollutant emissions legislation and the links between vehicle technology and fuel quality, mean that fuel quality has to be reviewed in parallel.
The need for a review and possible revision of Directive 98/70/EC is foreseen in its Article 9. This states that in view of:
- further progress on vehicle pollutant emissions;
- the evolution of the CO2 and cars strategy;
- and the development of alternative fuels,
it should be considered whether these factors have led to a need for a revision of the fuel specifications. In addition, other specific issues are identified for consideration. Wide ranging discussions with stakeholders identified a number of additional issues to be considered in the review.
- Existing provisions in the area of the proposal
Directive 98/70/EC as amended by Directive 2003/17/EC establishes minimum specifications for petrol and diesel to be placed on the market in the EU. Included within its scope is the sulphur limit for gas oil used for Non-Road Mobile Machinery.
Directive 1999/32/EC i establishes sulphur limits for certain liquid fuels and inter alia specifically refers to the fuel used in inland waterway vessels.
Directive 93/12/EEC i had previously regulated the sulphur content of liquid fuels, however following its amendment by Directives 98/70/EC and 1999/32/EC only one Article of the Directive remains in force.
- Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union
The Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution sets out a number of goals for the reduction of air pollution in the EU. This proposal is consistent with those goals by aiming in its different aspects to reduce or at least avoid any increase in emissions of the most important pollutants
Moreover, this proposal forms part of the Kyoto strategy of the EU, which is based on convergent action involving industry, transport, energy, housing and agriculture.
The proposal is consistent with the Sustainable Development Strategy since its goal is, where possible, to reduce or avoid increases in, undesirable pollutant emissions that lead to environmental and health impacts and to reduce transport greenhouse gas emissions. This needs however to be done in a cost effective manner considering the societal benefit.
The proposed Directive also aims at facilitating the achievement of current and future Community biofuel targets. The Commission's Biofuel Strategy i states that it must "focus on …. ensuring that the use of biofuels does not give rise to environmental or technical problems". The review addresses constraints on biofuel use and feasible modifications without increasing in-use environmental pressures. It is also recognised that further review of the limits and of the instruments might be needed as fuel and biofuel technologies and volumes develop.
The proposal has implications for the Lisbon strategy and the internal market. Fuel specifications affect not only fuel suppliers but also manufacturers of vehicles, non-road mobile machinery and fuel and exhaust system components. Changes to the specification can increase or reduce costs for those sectors. The specification also has some impact on the cost of fuel supplied and the size of the fuel markets and implications for overall energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and the level of health impacts from air pollution. The implications of any cost changes have been assessed and taken into account, and the changes proposed are believed to not increase overall costs to society.
The proposal is in conformity with better regulation principles as it involves the simplification of obligations imposed on industry, repeal of one directive, coherence with the climate change strategy, sustainable development strategy, biofuel strategy and the Thematic Strategy goal to improve air quality.
The proposed specifications have been defined on the basis of best available techniques with the objective of decreasing pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible without creating other environmental damage. Potential trade-offs in some areas, for example reducing sulphur can increase greenhouse gas emissions, have been assessed.
- Consultation of interested parties
Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents
In view of the highly technical nature of the Directive, a stakeholder process was organised with the relevant EU level stakeholders. During this process, the scope of the review was discussed and stakeholders were invited to put forward their views on all of the different aspects of the review. Two meetings were held and a further opportunity was provided for written comments. The majority of respondents agreed to their comments being made public and these are published at forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/fuel_quality
Because of the wide range of issues covered by the review, it is not possible to provide an overall summary of stakeholder comments here. The Impact Assessment reports the main views of stakeholders for each aspect of the review in particular where stakeholders hold diverging views. Where views diverge, the Commission has attempted to establish the most credible approach while recognising the uncertainty and avoiding risk of undesirable environmental or health consequences.
- Collection and use of expertise
Scientific/expertise domains concerned
The review covers issues mainly relating to air pollution, combustion and engine technology, oil refining, biofuel technology and greenhouse gas emissions.
The review of the Fuel Quality Directive covers a wide range of areas and involves a significant number of industrial sectors. Many aspects and the issues underlying them are highly technical.
In view of these factors, the Commission has sought input from organisations with relevant expertise. This input has been provided by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), a structured stakeholder process and through dialogue and meetings with individual stakeholder or groups of stakeholders.
The JRC has undertaken scientific work in support of some of the technical areas in the review with the support of different stakeholders. The JRC reported on progress to the stakeholder meetings and responded to questions and comments. The JRC's final advice was received on 28 February 2006.
The experimental work carried out by the JRC also involved the research organisation of the European automotive industry (EUCAR) and the research organisation of the European oil industry (CONCAWE). A large range of stakeholders have provided input to the process and these are detailed in Annex 1 of the Impact Assessment.
For a large number of the areas assessed in the review, there is little or no disagreement about the findings. These areas are: Captive Fleets, End date for 10ppm sulphur in diesel, Review of Directive 1999/96/EC, Review of CO2 and cars policy, Review of Directive 1999/30/EC.
In some areas there are single industry interests that favour a particular position. These include the limit on FAME content in diesel, non-road diesel specification, diesel density, petrol oxygenate content, petrol vapour pressure.
In a number of other areas there is a clear difference of opinion between different sectors, usually the vehicle manufacturing industry and the oil industry. These include World Wide Fuel Charter, Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons, detergents and metallic additives. Disagreement exists on the impact of metallic additives on emission control systems and the ethanol and vapour pressure limits.
Metallic additives are claimed by some parts of industry to raise risks of damage to vehicle exhaust control systems while the manufacturers of additives dispute this claim. It has so far not proved possible to agree a test method for verifying whether or not metallic additives do cause damage.
The use of ethanol in blends with petrol can lead to increased pollutant emissions which are precursors of ground level ozone. Higher blends of ethanol have problems of compatibility with some vehicles. The use of ethanol, and other biofuels, offers the potential to reduce life cycle Greenhouse Gas emissions from road fuels. The assessment of these impacts is disputed, in particular by the ethanol supply industry.
The existence of potentially serious risks with irreversible consequences has been mentioned in some areas, for example by vehicle manufacturers and the oil industry. These risks include damage to vehicles and increases in pollutant and greenhouse emissions.
The comments of stakeholders on all of the different aspects of the review have been made publicly available on the internet as noted above, except in cases where stakeholders requested their comments to be kept confidential.
- Impact assessment
The Commission carried out an Impact Assessment listed in the Work Programme. This report is accessible as document SEC(2007) 55. The Impact Assessment considers the following sixteen areas:
a) Whether the fuel specifications contained in the Directive should be replaced with those from the World Wide Fuel Charter proposed by the automotive industry.
b) Whether in the absence of a limit, a maximum limit on the FAME (biodiesel) content in diesel should be introduced in the Directive. Such a limit would constrain the amount of FAME that could be blended.
c) Whether it would result in any environmental benefit to establish minimum specifications for LPG, Natural Gas and Biofuels in the Directive.
d) Whether it would result in any environmental benefit to establish a specific fuel specification for use by captive fleets.
e) What mandatory date should be established for maximum sulphur content of 10ppm in diesel. This level of sulphur is needed to improve operation of pollutant control technologies.
f) Whether any parameters need to be changed following the review of Directive 1999/96/EC i to ensure the correct operation of vehicles meeting the tighter emission specifications.
g) Whether any parameters need to be changed following the review of the CO2 and cars voluntary agreements to enable car manufacturers to comply with their commitments.
h) Whether any amendment of the fuel parameters is required following the review of Directive 1999/30/EC i to enable the air quality limit values to be attained.
i) Whether the maximum content of Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (currently set at 11%) in diesel should be modified to lower vehicle pollutant emissions.
j) Whether any amendment is required to the specification for gas oil to be used in non-road mobile machinery to enable the introduction of machinery meeting new emission limits.
k) Whether any amendment is required to the Directive in view of the potential environmental benefit from a wider use of detergents in fuels.
l) Whether any amendment is required to the Directive in relation to the potential use of metallic additives in fuels as their effect on vehicles and emissions is unclear.
m) Whether the maximum density of diesel should be modified in view of the higher density of FAME (biodiesel) to facilitate its blending in diesel.
n) Whether any amendment is required to the maximum oxygenate limits for petrol in view of the desirability of promoting the use of biofuels.
o) Whether any amendment is required to the maximum vapour pressure limit for petrol in view of the desirability of promoting the use of biofuels given that a change in vapour pressure could lead to higher emissions of volatile organic compounds.
p) Whether an amendment is desirable to the Directive to take into account the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from fuel and thereby provide a technology neutral incentive to de-carbonise transport fuels and develop new and better biofuels.
For each area the options considered differ. In (f) and (g) no action appears to be the only feasible option. For all the other areas, no action was considered, as were between 1 and 6 other options. These other options include voluntary action by one or more sections of industry, introduction or tightening of existing limits in the specification as well as introducing new elements into the Directive.
Contents
- LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL
- BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
- 2. CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT
- Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account
- Methodology used
- Main organisations/experts consulted
- Summary of advice received and used
- Means used to make the expert advice publicly available
- 5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- 6. DESCRIPTION OF THE ELEMENTS
- Article 2
- Article 3
- Article 4
- Summary of the proposed action
For the majority of the areas assessed it was concluded that no action was the preferred option. In a number of areas changes to the Directive will lead to a reduction in pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions and lower overall costs. The main changes proposed to Directive are:
1) The mandatory date for a maximum of 10ppm sulphur in diesel is confirmed as 2009. This will result in lower pollutant emissions, primarily particulate matter, as well as facilitating the introduction of other pollutant control equipment and provides certainty to industry.
2) The maximum poly aromatic hydrocarbon content in diesel will be reduced to 8% from 2009. This might result in a reduction in particulate matter and poly aromatic hydrocarbon emissions, however the level and date have been chosen to ensure that there will be no cost from the change proposed.
3) The maximum sulphur content in non-road gas-oil will be reduced from 1000ppm to 10ppm for land based uses and from 1000ppm to 300ppm for inland waterways. The change for the land based equipment will facilitate the introduction of more advanced engines and emission control equipment as well as lowering particulate matter emissions from the existing equipment. The change for inland waterways will ensure that these engines operate at the type approved levels of pollutant emissions.
4) To enable a higher volume of biofuels to be used in petrol, a separate petrol blend is established with higher permitted oxygenate content (including up to 10% ethanol). For the same reason, the vapour pressure limit is increased for petrol blended with ethanol. All blends available on the market will be clearly labelled. These changes will facilitate development of the biofuel market while avoiding the possible risks of damage to existing vehicles. Higher emissions of volatile organic compounds will be controlled by collecting emissions in petrol stations for all fuels. The Commission will bring forward a proposal for mandatory introduction of filling station vapour recovery in 2007.
5) A mandatory monitoring of lifecycle greenhouse gases is introduced from 2009. From 2011 these emissions must be reduced by 1% per year. This will ensure that the fuel sector contributes to achieving the Community's longer term greenhouse gas reduction goals and parallels efforts on improving vehicle efficiency. It will also stimulate further development of low carbon fuels and other measures to reduce emissions from the production chain.
6) The permitted maximum vapour pressure for ethanol blends has been changed in order to allow the bio-fuels industry to develop in the early years. However, as base petrol could be manufactured to allow a higher content of bio-fuels and ethanol with a lower vapour pressure, oil companies have been invited to develop these blends also in Europe. When this lower vapour pressure base petrol is available in sufficient quantities, the vapour pressure limit might be reviewed.
In addition the proposed Directive clarifies the possible use of the exemption to the vapour pressure limit for arctic or severe weather to avoid misinterpretation and increase legal certainty and introduces a new review clause. The proposed Directive also brings Directive 98/70/EC up to date by amending it to eliminate redundant elements.
- Legal basis
This act has two legal bases (Article 95 and Article 175), since it amends one act and repeals another, both of which are based on Article 95 (ex Article 100a) and amends a third act which is based on Article 175 (ex Article 130s).
- Subsidiarity principle
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because there is an EU wide market for road vehicles and an important aspect of their proper functioning is the quality of the fuel available. Action by Member States alone would mean that there would cease to be a single market in road transport fuels because of the different specifications that would be in use. This would be damaging from an economic perspective as well as reducing security of energy supply since it would make each Member State's market dependent only on supply produced to its specification thus preventing interchange between Member States in the case of disruption to the market.
The benefits of limiting environmental and health damage from the use of road transport fuel will be greater at lower cost through a single EU fuel specification. Because air pollutants are carried across borders it is desirable to ensure that concerted action is taken to reduce emissions across the Community.
The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle.
- Proportionality principle
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons.
The proposal takes the form of a Directive which sets out the minimum fuel specification for reasons of environmental and health protection. Other technical aspects of fuel specifications are not addressed in the Directive but are left to be governed by European standards in line with better regulation principles.
The proposal does not increase the financial or administrative burden on the Community, national, regional or local governments. The requirements in relation to these bodies are not changed from that in the existing Directive.
In developing the proposals the costs and benefits have been analysed as detailed in the Impact Assessment. The actions proposed have been chosen to ensure that the benefits always outweigh the costs. In this way the overall costs to economic operators and citizens have been minimised.
- Choice of instruments
Proposed instrument: Directive.
Other means would not be adequate because to provide certainty fuel quality must be governed by binding legislation. This rules out all options other than a Directive or Regulation. Since it is only necessary to control the final specification of the fuel, but not how that specification is assured, a Regulation would be unnecessarily stringent.
The proposal has no implication for the Community budget.
- Simplification
The proposal provides for simplification of legislation by modifying two existing Directives (Directive 98/70/EC and Directive 1999/32/EC i). The resulting Directives are shorter, clearer, avoid a current area of overlap and leave less ground for legal uncertainty.
- Repeal of existing legislation
The proposal will lead to the repeal of an existing redundant Directive (93/12/EEC i).
- Review/revision/sunset clause
The proposal includes a review clause.
- Correlation table
The Member States are required to communicate to the Commission the text of national provisions transposing the Directive as well as a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.
- European Economic Area
The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.
Article 1
Point 1. This amends Article 2 by adding a new paragraph 5 more clearly defining the meaning of arctic or severe weather conditions.
Point 2. This amends Article 3. Paragraph 2, sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) are deleted since they are redundant. Sub-paragraph (c) is modified to authorise the marketing of petrol complying with Annex V.
Paragraph 3 is replaced to require all fuels meeting the specifications set out in Annex III and Annex V to be labelled.
Paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 are deleted because they are redundant as any derogations would have expired in 2003, 2005 or 2007.
Paragraph 7 is replaced to clarify the maximum content of lead for the small quantities of leaded petrol that Member States might continue to permit.
Point 3. This amends Article 4. In paragraph 1, sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) are deleted since they are redundant. Sub-paragraph (e) is replaced to confirm the date of 1 January 2009 as the date at which all diesel shall contain a maximum of 10mg/kg of sulphur.
Paragraph 2 and 3 are deleted because they are redundant as any derogations would have expired in 2003 and 2007. Paragraph 4 is deleted because the procedure for dealing with derogations under paragraphs 2 and 3 is consequently no longer required.
Paragraph 5 is replaced to introduce tighter sulphur specifications for gas oil used in non-road mobile machinery.
Paragraph 6 is added to introduce tighter maximum permissible sulphur content in gas oils intended for use by inland waterway vessels by 31 December 2009. A further reduction is introduced by 31 December 2011 at the latest.
Point 4. This changes the heading and introduces a new paragraph in Article 6 requiring Member States wishing to use the derogation for summer vapour pressure in arctic or severe weather conditions subject to the approval of the Commission.
Point 5. This inserts two new Articles. The first Article requires Member States to oblige fuel suppliers to report on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel they supply. The methodology of the reporting mechanism is to be established in coordination with the provisions of Directive 2003/30/EC. An additional requirement coming into force at a later date requires reported emissions to be reduced.
The second Article foresees that the Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11 i, adopt measures for the modifications of specifications concerning the blending of ethanol into petrol, and in particular, the vapour pressure.
Point 6. This inserts a new Article requiring the Commission to continue to develop suitable test methodology for the use of metallic additives into fuels.
Point 7. This replaces the original Article requiring the Commission to report on the Directive on a regular basis. The first report is foreseen by 31 December 2012 and further reports are foreseen every three years. The reports shall be accompanied by proposals where appropriate. Elements that shall inter alia be included in the report are specified in this Article.
Point 8. This replaces the original Article 11 (as listed in Annex III point 80 of Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 i) in order to make a reference to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny.
Point 9. This deletes Article 14 which is redundant.
Point 10. This deletes Annex I of Directive 98/70/EC which is redundant.
Point 11. This deletes Annex II of Directive 98/70/EC which is redundant.
Point 12. In Annex III the maximum vapour pressure limit for ethanol blends is increased.
Point 13. In Annex IV the maximum permitted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon content in diesel is changed to 8% and footnote 3 is modified as a result of confirmation of 1 January 2009 as the date for all diesel to contain a maximum of 10mg/kg of sulphur.
Point 14. A new Annex V containing the specification for petrol containing up to 10% ethanol is added including an increase in maximum content of all oxygenates and an overall oxygenate content of 3.7%.
Point 15. A new Annex VI containing the level of permitted vapour pressure increase for different ethanol blends is added.
Directive 1999/32/EC contains references to the fuel to be used by inland waterway vessels. The changes in this proposal to the fuel specification for these vessels requires a consequent change to that Directive.
Earlier changes made to Directive 93/12/EEC by both Directive 1998/70/EC and Directive 1999/32/EC have left only one paragraph of Article 2 of that Directive in force. This is redundant and therefore the Directive is repealed.
The date of transposition is set at 31 December 2008 at the latest.