The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA, NL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO₂ emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and integrating reporting obligations, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/956.
The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
Definitions
The report included the definition of ‘Extra Heavy Combination lorry’ or ‘EHC lorry’ to mean a category N3 vehicle suitable for usage in a vehicle combination.
Stricter overall target for 2035
Members called for strong CO2 emissions reduction targets for medium and heavy trucks, including vocational vehicles (such as garbage trucks, tippers or concrete mixers) and buses. These targets would be set at 44% for the period 2030-2034, 70% for 2035-2039 (compared to 65% proposed by the Commission) and 90% as of 2040.
Exclusions
While agreeing that all new registered urban buses should be zero-emission vehicles from 2030. They added the possibility for member states to request a temporary exemption (until 2035) for urban buses fuelled by biomethane, under strict conditions linked to the presence of refuelling infrastructure and to the fuel’s origin.
Zero-Emission HDVs Forum
Members proposed that as soon as the regulation enters into force, the European Commission should convene a ‘Zero-Emission HDV’ forum, which should be composed of representatives from public charging stations operators, electricity transmission system operators, long-haul transporters, urban logistic operators, public transport operators, civil society organisations, Member States and manufacturers, in order to work together on the effective and cost-efficient roll-out of recharging and refuelling infrastructure in view of the increased CO2 emissions reduction target set out in this draft regulation.
The forum will allow for consultation to ensure that charging infrastructure is available and accessible at an affordable cost. It will also provide for a constructive dialogue with a view to the revision of the alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR) Regulation in 2026, to align the AFIR’s goals with the new CO2 emission reduction standards for HDVs.
Review
The Commission should by 31 December 2026 publish a report assessing the possibility of developing a common Union methodology for the assessment, and the consistent data reporting, of the full lifecycle CO2 emissions of new heavy-duty vehicles that are placed on the Union market.