Directive 2009/33 - Promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles - Main contents

Clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2009/33/EC on promoting clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

It aims at promoting and stimulating the development of a market for clean and energy-efficient vehicles.

It requires public authorities and certain other public transport operators to take into account the impact of these vehicles during their operational lifetime in terms of:

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  energy consumption;
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  CO₂ emissions; and
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  other pollutant emissions.

KEY POINTS

Scope

The directive applies to contracts for the purchase of road transport vehicles entered into by:

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  contracting authorities and contracting entities;
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  operators of public service obligations under a public service contract.

Purchase of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles

EU countries must ensure that contracting authorities, contracting entities and operators under a public service contract take into account the operational lifetime energy and environmental impacts when purchasing road transport vehicles.

Energy and environmental impacts include:

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  energy consumption;
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  emissions of CO₂;
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  emissions of NOx, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and particulate matter.

To meet the requirement to take into account the environmental impact of vehicles, contracting authorities, contracting entities and public transport operators can choose:

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  to set technical specifications for energy and environmental performance in the documentation they draw up when the vehicle is purchased; or
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  to include energy and environmental impacts in the purchasing decision.

Methodology for the calculation of operational lifetime costs

The directive prescribes a methodology to calculate the cost of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions and pollutant emissions during a vehicle’s operational lifetime where the contracting authority, contracting entity or the operator under a public service contract has chosen to include the energy and environmental impacts in the purchasing decision.

The operational lifetime cost of the energy consumption of a vehicle is calculated using the following method:

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  fuel consumption per kilometre is calculated in units of energy consumption per kilometre;
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  the calculation uses a single monetary value per unit of energy;
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  the operational lifetime cost of the energy consumption of a vehicle is calculated by multiplying the mileage already performed by energy consumption, and then by the cost per unit of energy.

The cost of CO₂ emissions is calculated by multiplying the mileage already performed by CO₂ emissions in kilograms per kilometre, and then by the cost per kilogram.

The cost of pollutant emissions is obtained by adding the costs related to emissions of NOx, NMHC and particulate matter.

Sharing best practice

The European Commission encourages the sharing of knowledge and best practice between EU countries with a view to promoting the purchase of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles.

Several initiatives are under way that ensure the directive is implemented. These include:

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  guidelines on green public procurement and a technical background report;
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  the European Green Vehicle Initiative which seeks to support the development of green vehicles and sustainable mobility solutions;
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  the European Clean Bus deployment initiative; and
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  various studies.

FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?

It has applied since 4 June 2009 and had to become law in the EU countries from 4 December 2010.

BACKGROUND

The EU’s climate and energy package includes targets for 2020 for energy efficiency, a target minimum share for renewable energy and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The transport sector can make a significant contribution to meeting these targets.

For more information, see:

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  Clean vehicles directive (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles (OJ L 120, 15.5.2009, pp. 5-12)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the application of Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy efficient road transport vehicles (COM (2013) 214 final, 18.4.2013)

last update 14.12.2018

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.