The European Parliament adopted by 499 votes to 107 with 9 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 to define the modalities for reaching the 2020 target to reduce CO 2 emissions from new passenger cars.
Parliament adopted its position in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of an agreement between Parliament and Council. The main amendments were as follows:
Emission targets: in accordance with the Commission proposal, from 2020 onwards, the Regulation sets a target of 95 g CO2 /km for the average emissions of the new car fleet.
With effect from 1 January 2012, a manufacturer, which is responsible for less than 1 000 new passenger cars in the previous calendar year, shall be excluded from the scope of the specific emissions target and the excess emissions premium.
Specific emission targets: for the purposes of determining each manufacturer's average specific emissions of CO 2, the following percentages of each manufacturer's new passenger cars registered in the relevant year shall be taken into account:
· 65% in 2012,
· 75% in 2013,
· 80% in 2014,
· 100% from 2015 to 2019,
· 95% in 2020,
· 100% by the end of 2020 onwards.
Super-credits for 95 g CO 2 /km target: in calculating the average specific emissions of CO2 , each new passenger car with specific emissions of CO2 of less than 50 g CO2 /km shall be counted as:
· 2 passenger cars in 2020,
· 1,67 passenger cars in 2021,
· 1,33 passenger cars in 2022,
· 1 passenger car from 2023.
Eco-innovations: upon application by a supplier or a manufacturer, CO 2 savings achieved through the use of innovative technologies or a combination of innovative technologies (“innovative technology packages”) shall be considered.
Such technologies shall be taken into consideration
only if the methodology used to assess them is capable of producing
verifiable, repeatable and comparable results.
The total contribution of those technologies to reducing the
specific emissions target of a manufacturer may be up to 7 g
CO 2 /km.
A supplier or a manufacturer who applies for a measure to be approved as an innovative technology or innovative technology package shall submit a verification report undertaken by an independent and certified body, to the Commission.
Evaluation and reports: by 31 December 2015, the Commission shall review the specific emissions targets and the modalities set out herein, as well as the other aspects of this Regulation, including whether a utility parameter is still needed and whether mass or footprint is the more sustainable utility parameter, in order to establish the CO2 emissions targets for new passenger cars for the period beyond 2020. The Commission shall submit a report with the result of that review. That report shall include any appropriate proposals for amending this Regulation, including the possible setting of a realistic and achievable target for 2025, based on a comprehensive impact assessment that will consider the continued competitiveness of the car industry and its dependent industries.
New test procedure: a recital stressed the need to amend the currently used ‘New European Driving Cycle’ (NEDC), to ensure its representativeness regarding real driving conditions and to avoid the underestimation of real CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption. A new, more realistic and reliable test procedure should be agreed as soon as feasible.
In order to ensure that specific CO 2 emissions quoted for new passenger cars are brought more closely into line with the emissions actually generated during normal conditions of use, Parliament stated that the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) should be applied at the earliest opportunity.