Lorries, buses and coaches produce around a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU and around 6% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions. Action is needed to curb these emissions.
On 17 May 2018, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal setting the first ever CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles in the EU.
The proposed targets for average CO2 emissions from new lorries:
The proposal also includes a mechanism to incentivise the uptake of zero- and low-emission vehicles, in a technology-neutral way.
The proposal will:
Expected benefits include:
In 2025, the average CO2 emissions of new heavy duty vehicles will have to be 15% lower, compared to 2019. This target is mandatory and can be achieved using technologies that are already available on the market.
In 2030, emissions have to be at least 30% lower. This target is aspirational, giving long-term direction. It will be reviewed in 2022 to incorporate additional information on the new technologies needed to meet this target.
As a first step, the CO2 emission standards are proposed for large lorries, which account for 65% to 70% of all CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.
In 2022, the scope will be extended to include other vehicle types such as smaller lorries, buses, coaches and trailers.
Today, about 98% of our lorries rely on diesel. There are virtually no large zero emission lorries on European roads, and few zero emission buses in cities. At the same time, almost all manufacturers have announced plans for zero emission vehicles.
The Commission proposes to support these technologies and foster innovation through an incentive system which complements the Action Plan on batteries.
This system of super credits will reward those manufacturers who will invest more in innovative technologies, while preserving the environmental integrity of the CO2 targets. It also includes zero-emission buses which are needed for cleaner air in cities.
The proposal includes several elements to support cost-effective implementation:
The standards will help Member States achieve their targets under the Effort Sharing Regulation, which concerns emissions from sectors outside the scope of the EU emissions trading system, including road transport.
The legislative proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions for further consideration under the ordinary legislative procedure.
The public has the possibility to provide feedback on the legislative proposal after it was adopted by the European Commission.
The legislative initiative is part of the Commission’s third “mobility package” and complements policy measures such as the Certification Regulation, Monitoring and Reporting Regulation, EU type-approval system, Eurovignette Directive, Fuel Quality Directive, Clean Vehicles Directive, Directive on maximum authorised weights and dimensions and Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.
The following measures enable the implementation of the proposed emission standards:
The monitoring and reporting Regulation requires that, as of 1 January 2019, lorry manufacturers monitor and report annually to the Commission the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of each new vehicle they produce for the EU market.
According to the certification Regulation, manufacturers will have to determine the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new lorries above 7.5 tonnes.
The scope is set to be amended in the future to also cover smaller lorries and buses and coaches. This would allow to also monitor data from these vehicle categories.
The collected data on CO2 emissions and fuel consumption together with other relevant technical information on the vehicles, including the aerodynamic drag, will be made publicly available by the European Environment Agency on behalf of the Commission, starting in 2020 to cover data monitored in 2019.
The new system will complement the existing EU reporting system for cars and vans.
More information on the Commission proposal for a monitoring and reporting system is available in this memo.
The information required for monitoring and reporting will be calculated using the Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO).
VECTO is a simulation software that can be used cost-efficiently and reliably to measure the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of high duty vehicles for specific loads, fuels and mission profiles (e.g. long haul, regional delivery, urban delivery, etc.), based on input data from relevant vehicle components.
The tool has been developed by the Commission in close cooperation with stakeholders.
For more information on VECTO, see Annex 12 of the impact assessment.