Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2007)856 - Emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the EC's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2007)856 - Emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the EC's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from ... |
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| source | COM(2007)856  |
| date | 19-12-2007 |
Grounds for and objectives of the proposalThe internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital must be ensured. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 94/69/EC of 15 December 1993 concerning the conclusion of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, i requires all parties to formulate and implement national and, where appropriate, regional programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change. In this respect, the Commission proposed in January 2007 that, in the context of international negotiations, the EU pursues the objective of a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels) and that the EU should make a firm independent commitment to achieve at least a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). i This objective was endorsed by the Council and the European Parliament. One of the implications of those commitments is for all Member States to reduce significantly emissions from passenger cars. Cars are an important part of the everyday lives of a large number of Europeans and the automotive industry is a significant source of employment and growth in many regions of the EU. Car usage also has significant impacts on climate change. Passenger car use accounts for about 12% of overall EU emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas. Improvements in vehicle motor technology, in particular fuel efficiency, have led to a 12.4% fuel efficiency improvement between 1995 and 2004. However, improvements in fuel efficiency have been offset mainly by the increase in demand for transport and vehicle size. While the EU as a whole has reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by approximately 5% over the 1990-2004 period and emissions have been declining in non-transport sectors, the CO2 emissions from road transport have increased by 26%. Despite significant improvements in vehicle motor technology, in particular in fuel efficiency which also means lower CO2 emissions, demand for transport and vehicle size has increased and progress has been too slow in view of the Community objective of average emissions from the new car fleet of 120 g CO2/km. The objective of this proposal is to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market for passenger cars by laying down harmonised rules to limit the average CO2 emissions from the new car fleet in the Community to 130g CO2/km by 2012. Without such harmonisation there is a high risk that the internal market would be impaired with Member States seeking to take unilateral action in order to improve the fuel efficiency of passenger cars and reduce CO2 emissions. This is part of an integrated approach and will be complemented by measures delivering an additional 10g CO2/km in order to meet the Community objective of 120 g CO2/km as set out in Communication COM(2007)19.Adopting Community targets for new passenger cars is necessary to prevent fragmentation in the internal market resulting from the adoption of different measures at Member State level. Community targets provide manufacturers with more planning certainty and more flexibility to meet the CO2 reduction requirements than would be provided by separate national reduction targets. In setting emissions standards it is important to take into account the implications for markets and manufacturers’ competitiveness, stimulating innovation and reducing energy consumption. In setting such standards, it is important to provide Europe-wide planning security for vehicle manufacturers.The aim of this Regulation is to create incentives for the car industry to invest in new technologies. The Regulation actively promotes eco-innovation and takes into account future technological developments. In this way, the competitiveness of the European Industry is enhanced and more high-quality jobs created.
General contextThe Commission first adopted a Community Strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars in 1995. The strategy was based on three pillars: voluntary commitments from the car industry to cut emissions, improvements in consumer information and the promotion of fuel efficient cars via fiscal measures. In 1998, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association adopted a commitment to reduce average emissions from new cars sold to 140 g CO2/km by 2008 and, in 1999, the Japanese and Korean Automobile Manufacturers Associations adopted a similar commitment to reduce average emissions from new cars sold to 140 g CO2/km by 2009. On 7 February 2007, the Commission adopted two parallel Communications: a Communication on the results of the review of the Community Strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles and a Communication on a Competitive Automotive Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century CARS 21 ("the Communications"). The Communications underlined that while progress had been made some way towards the target of 140g CO2/km by 2008/9, the Community objective of average emissions from the new car fleet of 120g CO2/km would not be met by 2012 in the absence of additional measures. The Communications therefore proposed the adoption of an integrated approach to meet the Community objective and announced that the Commission would propose a legislative framework to achieve the Community objective by focusing on mandatory reductions of emissions of CO2 to reach the objective of 130 g CO2/km for the average new car fleet by means of improvements in vehicle motor technology, and a further reduction of 10 g CO2/km, or equivalent if technically necessary, by other technological improvements and by an increased use of biofuels. The Communications emphasised that the legislative framework for implementing the average new car fleet target should ensure competitively neutral and socially equitable and sustainable reduction targets which are equitable to the diversity of the European automobile manufacturers and avoid any unjustified distortion of competition between automobile manufacturers. The legislative framework should be compatible with the overall objective of reaching the EU's Kyoto targets.In May 2007, the Competitiveness Council supported 'an integrated approach as proposed by the Commission, for reducing CO2 emissions from motor vehicles' and underlined 'that all the players must make their contribution to reducing emissions harmful to the climate' and that 'the opportunity for a regulatory framework which is cost-effective, ensures affordable mobility and contributes to preserving the global competitiveness of the automotive industry'. In June 2007, the Environment Council "urged the European Commission to come forward, as soon as possible and before the end of 2007, with a legislative framework to reduce CO2 emissions from cars (…)". These two Council formations, as well as the Transport Council in June 2007, called 'on the Commission to configure the planned framework for attaining the target for average CO2 emissions from the fleet of new cars sold in the EU on the basis of a thorough impact assessment in a way that is as neutral as possible from the point of view of competition, and which is socially equitable and sustainable. It should be framed in such a way as to ensure that all manufacturers intensify their efforts to make their whole vehicle production more environmentally-friendly in a cost-effective way'.In its resolution adopted on 24 October 2007, the European Parliament welcomed the Commission's plan to propose legislation and proposed that binding emission targets be implemented from 2011 onwards in order to ensure that by technical improvements to vehicles alone, the average new car fleet would reach 125 g CO2/km in 2015. The Parliament recommended that reduction targets be defined through a footprint (trackwidth multiplied by wheelbase) based limit value. The Parliament also insisted on the second step to be taken in view of the longer-term target: the average new car fleet should reach 95 g CO2/km by 2020 and possibly 70 g CO2/km by 2025 subject to a confirmation or review by the Commission no later than 2016.Consumer behaviour has an affect on overall emissions from passenger cars. Consumers should be provided with information regarding whether new passenger cars meet the emission targets. The Commission will adopt an amending proposal to improve the effectiveness of the fuel efficiency labelling Directive 1999/94/EC. Car taxation is also a powerful instrument to influence the purchase decisions of consumers. Taxes differentiated to support the market introduction of fuel efficient and low CO2 emitting cars could facilitate the achievement of the Community's target. The Commission has made a proposal for a Council Directive on passenger car taxation (COM(2005)61) which allows for this possibility by requiring tax to be differentiated on the basis of the CO2 emissions of each car, with the share of CO2-related tax revenues rising from twenty-five per cent to fifty per cent. The mid-term review of the White Paper on the Common Transport Policy (COM(2006) 314) reconfirmed the objectives of protecting the environment and ensuring energy security, highlighting CO2 emissions as one of the challenges.
Existing provisions in the area of the proposalCommission Recommendation 1999/125/EC on the reduction of CO2 emissions from passenger cars ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/99125 Recommendation 2000/303/EC on the reduction of CO2 emissions from passenger cars (KAMA) ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/00303 Recommendation 2000/304/EC on the reduction of CO2 emissions from passenger cars (JAMA) ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/00304/en.pdf.Decision 1753/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a scheme to monitor average emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/001753/001753_en.pdf.
Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the UnionThe proposal is in line with the three pillars of the Lisbon Strategy as tighter requirements on CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency should encourage the development and application of new environmental technologies, which in turn, could encourage high-value-added technology exports of technologies and vehicles to emerging markets where oil is scarce and promote highly qualified jobs in Europe. The proposal also contributes to the Renewed Sustainable Development Strategy adopted by the European Council in June 2006 by contributing to a more sustainable mobility. Making transport more sustainable would facilitate achieving other sustainable development goals. This relationship is particularly strong between transport climate change, public health, conservation of natural resources and energy use.
Consultation of interested parties
Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondentsIn support of the earlier Communications, a first round of public consultation was carried out by the Commission in 2005-2006 via an internet consultation. This was complemented by a dedicated working group established under the European Climate Change Programme. In addition, the CARS 21 stakeholder group reviewed the role of environmental policy and CO2 emissions as part of developing an overarching integrated policy framework for the automotive sector.Building on this work, the following additional consultations were carried out, together with an external study aimed at investigating possible regulatory approaches to reducing CO2 from light-duty vehicles:- Between 5 May and 15 July 2007, an online internet public consultation was carried out, aimed at gathering the views of all stakeholders and members of the public on the implementation of the revised CO2 and cars strategy;- To complement this internet consultation, a public hearing was organised by the Commission on 11 July 2007, where the stakeholders directly concerned by the upcoming legislation (automotive industry, suppliers, environmental NGOs, social partners, consumers) had the opportunity to present their positions.
Summary of responses and how they have been taken into accountThe information gathered through the stakeholder consultation has been taken into account in the design of the proposed scheme. Details of how this was done are set out in the impact assessment report which accompanies this proposal.
The Commission received 2390 responses to the internet consultation carried out between May and July 2007. The results are available on ec.europa.eu/reducing_co2_emissions_from_cars and, along with the full report of the public hearing, are summarised in the annex to the impact assessment accompanying the proposal.
Scientific/expertise domains concerned i Expertise from the automotive industry, including manufacturers and i modelling expertise provided by external consultants (see Annex I to the Impact Assessment accompanying this proposal for details of the reference documents and considerations for the modelling framework).
Methodology usedModelling with formal mathematical models and calculations based on statistical data.
Main organisations/experts consultedPublic authorities, industry associations, trade organisations, environmental organisations, consumer organisations and external consultants.
The advice provided by the external consultant has been used to assess the implications of the various policy options to achieve the objectives of the proposal. These options and their implications are described in the impact assessment which accompanies this proposal.
Means used to make the expert advice publicly availableThe study carried out in support of the impact assessment, together with earlier related work, will be made available at the following websites: ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/co2_studieshttp://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/automotive/index_en.htm
Impact assessmentThe impact assessment considered three main options: The first option considered was to set the same CO2 emission limit for each manufacturer for the average of their new passenger car fleets in 2012, namely the average emission target of 130 g CO2/km.The second option considered was to define a linear curve giving the CO2 value to be achieved by a given car as a function of its 'utility' (mass or footprint) so that the average of the new passenger cars in 2012 would deliver the 130 g CO2/km target.The third and last option was to require manufacturers to deliver a set percentage reduction corresponding to the reduction needed to achieve the 130 g CO2/km target in 2012 compared to the 2006 situation.For all three options, flexibility mechanisms have been considered, including fleet averaging, pooling and trading amongst manufacturers. Different compliance mechanisms have also been investigated. The potential economic, social and environmental impacts have been considered in detail.
The detailed evaluation of the options is set out in the impact assessment accompanying the proposal which will be available at the following addresses: ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/co2_home and ec.europa.eu/enterprise/automotive/index_en.
Contents
Summary of the proposed actionThe proposal aims to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market for passenger cars by ensuring that average specific emissions of new passenger cars in the Community do not exceed 130g CO2/km from 2012 onwards. The key aspects of the proposal are: - The proposal will apply to M1 vehicles (passenger cars).- The proposal sets targets for the specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars in the Community as a function of their mass.- The proposal sets mandatory targets for the specific emissions of CO2 of passenger cars from 2012 onwards. The targets will apply to the average specific emissions of CO2 in g/km for new passenger cars for each manufacturer which are registered in the EU in each calendar year. Manufacturers may form a pool in order to meet their targets. Where two or more manufacturers form a pool, the pool will be treated as if it is one manufacturer for the purposes of determining its compliance with the targets.- Member States will be obliged to collect data on the new cars registered in their territory and to report this data to the Commission for the purposes of assessing compliance with the targets.- If a manufacturer fails to meet its target, it will be required to pay an excess emissions premium in respect of each calendar year from 2012 onwards. The premium will be calculated by multiplying the number of g CO2/km by which the manufacturer exceeded its target by the number of cars newly registered and by the excess emissions penalty for the year. The excess emissions penalty will be 20 euros for emissions in 2012, 35 euros for emissions in 2013, 60 euros for emissions in 2014 and 95 euros for emissions in 2015 and each subsequent year.- The targets under the Regulation are established on the basis of the best knowledge currently available regarding in particular the likely fleet evolution between now and 2012 in respect of the autonomous weight increase.
Legal basisArticle 95 of the EC Treaty is the appropriate legal basis because of the need to ensure a level playing field for all economic actors in the internal market while at the same time ensuring a high level of protection of health and the environment.
Subsidiarity principleThe subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reasons:
The need to avoid the emergence of barriers to the single market, the transboundary nature of climate change and the important variations in the national averages of specific emissions of CO2 for new passenger cars: the monitoring of the average new car CO2 emissions shows that national new car fleet emissions vary from Member State to Member State (in 2006, the average new car sold in Portugal emitted 144 g CO2/km, against 187 g CO2/km in Sweden) and, as a result, Member States would not be able to implement national measures such that the EU average of 130 g CO2/km would be delivered.
Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reasons:
Harmonised action to reduce the climate change impact of passenger cars can best be achieved by adopting legislation at Community level. Adopting targets for CO2 emissions from cars at the Community level prevents fragmentation of the internal market and provides manufacturers with more flexibility in implementing the required CO2 reductions across their new car fleet in the Community rather than having specific strategies for specific national reduction objectives.The Community has a long-standing target to reduce the average CO2 emissions from new cars in the Community and the Council and European Parliament have called upon the Commission to make a proposal for legislation on this matter.
The scope of the proposal is limited to defining manufacturers' targets in respect of the achievement of the average new car fleet emissions of 130 g CO2/km, without prescribing complementary measures (advertising requirements, fiscal incentives) that Member States could take and that could contribute to the overall objective of reducing CO2 from cars, although they would in themselves not be sufficient to deliver the 130 g CO2/km target.
The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle.
Proportionality principleThe proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons:
It does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objectives of ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market while at the same time providing for a high level of environmental protection.The proposal is proportionate to the EU's overall objective of reaching the EU's Kyoto targets and sets competitively neutral and socially equitable and sustainable reduction targets which are equitable to the diversity of the European automobile manufacturers and avoid any unjustified distortion of competition between automobile manufacturers.
The proposal will build upon an already existing monitoring scheme that was established earlier in order to follow up on the implementation of the CO2 and cars strategy.
Proposed instrument: regulation.
Other means would not be adequate for the following reasons:The Regulation comes after voluntary commitments taken by the industry have been deemed inappropriate for the purpose of delivering further progress as part of the revised CO2 and cars strategy (legislative framework implementing the integrated approach).The use of a Regulation is considered to be the appropriate legal instrument in providing the required assurance for compliance whilst not requiring the transposition into Member States’ legislation. The Community objective applies to the Community as a whole. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure that a uniform approach is applied in all Member States. Further, a harmonised approach is required in order to avoid distortions of competition which could have impacts on the internal market.
Implementation of the proposal once adopted will require resources at the EU level to adequately monitor manufacturers' performance against their CO2 reduction targets, and, where necessary, to administer excess emissions premiums provided for in the legislation, which will be incorporated into the general EU budget..
Repeal of existing legislationThe adoption of the proposal will lead to the repeal of existing legislation.
The proposal includes a review clause.
European Economic AreaThe proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.