PURPOSE: to establish CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty commercial vehicles
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and amending Regulations (EC) No 595/2009 and (EU) 2018/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/53/EC.
CONTENT: this Regulation sets binding CO2 emission reduction targets for heavy duty vehicles. CO2 emissions from heavy commercial vehicles, including lorries, buses and coaches, represent around 6% of total CO2 emissions in the EU and 27% of total CO2 emissions from road transport.
The Regulation is part of the Commission's third mobility package of 17 May 2018, entitled "Europe on the move - sustainable mobility for Europe: safe, connected and clean". Its objective is to contribute to achieving the Union’s target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 % below 2005 levels in 2030 in the sectors covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/842 and to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.
Binding emission reduction targets
To this end, the Regulation provides for a binding CO2 reduction target of 30% by 2030 for new heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks and lorries, with an intermediate target of 15% by 2025.
The reference CO2 emissions shall be based on the monitoring data reported pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/956 for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, excluding vocational vehicles.
Incentives for zero-emission and low-emission vehicles
In order to ensure the smooth transition towards zero-emission mobility and to provide incentives for the development and deployment on the Union market of zero- and low-emission heavy-duty vehicles, the Regulation introduced a dedicated mechanism in the form of super credits for the reporting periods before 2025 and a benchmark for the share of zero- and low-emission heavy-duty vehicles in a manufacturer’s fleet for the reporting periods as from 2025.
The incentive system shall be designed so as to ensure investment certainty for charging infrastructure providers and manufacturers in order to promote the rapid deployment on the Union market of zero- and low-emission heavy-duty vehicles, while allowing certain flexibility for the manufacturers to decide on their investment timeline.
Specific measures to ensure the availability of solid and reliable data
The Commission shall monitor and assess the real-world representativeness of the CO2 emissions and energy consumption values of heavy-duty vehicles using on-board fuel and/or energy consumption monitoring devices, starting with new heavy-duty vehicles registered from the date of application of the measures. It shall also ensure that the public is informed of how that representativeness evolves over time.
Sanctions
The Commission shall impose a financial penalty, in the form of an excess CO2 emissions premium, where a manufacturer is found to have excess CO2 emissions, taking into account the emission credits and emission debts. Information about excess CO2 emissions of manufacturers shall be made publicly available.
In order to provide manufacturers with sufficient incentive to take measures to reduce the specific CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, it is important that the premium exceed the average marginal costs of the technologies needed to meet the CO2 emissions targets.
The premium should be considered as revenue for the general budget of the European Union.
Just transition
A text stressed the need for a socially acceptable and fair transition to zero emission mobility as well as the importance of taking into account the social effects of the transition throughout the whole automotive value chain and anticipating the implications on employment.
Targeted programmes at Union, national and regional levels are therefore to be considered for the re-skilling, up-skilling and redeployment of workers, as well as education and job-seeking initiatives in adversely affected communities and regions, in close dialogue with the social partners and competent authorities.
Evaluation and reporting
By 31 December 2022 at the latest, the Commission shall present a report on (i) the effectiveness of the Regulation, (ii) the CO2 emission reduction target and the level of the incentive mechanism for low- and zero-emission heavy duty vehicles applicable from 2030, (iii) on the setting of CO2 emission reduction targets for other types of heavy-duty vehicles, including trailers, buses and coaches and professional vehicles, and (iv) on the introduction of binding CO2 emission reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles for 2035 and 2040 and beyond.
The report shall include, among other things, an evaluation of the VECTO calculation tool to ensure its continuous and timely update.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 14.8.2019.