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Clean mobility: Commission welcomes European Parliament adoption of first-ever EU-wide CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions
18/04/2019
The European Parliament today approved the first-ever EU-wide CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The new rules set targets for reducing the average emissions from new lorries for 2025 and 2030.
The new CO2 standards are part of the clean mobility package. They contribute to the modernisation of Europe’s transport sector and the transition towards a climate-neutral economy, in line with the EU's commitments under the Paris Agreement and the implementation of the Energy Union.
Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: “Today's vote is a key milestone: the heavy-duty transport sector can play an essential role in Europe's transition towards a climate-neutral economy. These first-ever EU-wide targets and incentives will help EU industry embrace innovation towards higher fuel efficiency and zero-emission vehicles and consolidate its current leadership position on innovative technologies, while bringing fuel cost savings to transport operators and cleaner air for all Europeans.”
- First-ever CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles in the EU. Emissions from new lorries will have to be 15% lower in 2025 and 30% lower in 2030, compared to the reference period which covers 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
- Technology-neutral incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles to give the market a clear signal for investment in clean vehicles.
- Solid governance provisions to ensure that the emissions in the reference period are not unduly inflated, the emissions determined with the VECTO simulation tool are representative with respect to real world driving, and the emissions of the vehicles in-use conform to those declared at type approval.
- A ‘banking and borrowing’ mechanism to balance underachievements and overachievements in different years, aimed at supporting cost-effective implementation of the CO2 targets for the manufacturers. Moreover, vocational vehicles, such as construction lorries, garbage lorries and concrete mixers are exempted from the CO2 targets, but if these are zero-emission, they can count for the incentive mechanism.
Next steps
Following this approval by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers will finalise the formal adoption. This endorsement will be followed by the publication of the text in the Official Journal of the Union, and the new legislation will enter into force 20 days after publication.
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