The European Commission welcomes the agreement reached last night between the European Parliament and the Council that all new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles registered in Europe will be zero-emission by 2035. As an intermediate step towards zero emissions, the new CO2 standards will also require average emissions from new passenger cars to be reduced by 55% by 2030 and from new light commercial vehicles by 50% by 2030. This agreement is the first step towards the adoption of the legislative proposals presented by the Commission in July 2021 as part of the "Fit for 55" initiative and shows, ahead of COP27, that the EU is implementing its international climate commitments within its borders.
Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, responsible for the European Green Deal, said: "The agreement sends a strong signal to industry and consumers: Europe is embracing the transition to zero-emission mobility. European car manufacturers are already showing that they are ready to take up the challenge and are bringing more and more increasingly affordable electric cars onto the market. The speed at which this change has taken place in recent years is remarkable. It is not surprising that this dossier is the first of the entire 'Fit for 55' package on which the Member States and the European Parliament have finally reached agreement."
This clear signal to manufacturers and citizens will drive the production and sale of low- and zero-emission vehicles and put road transport on a solid path to climate neutrality by 2050. This new legislation will make the EU's transport system more sustainable and ensure cleaner air for Europeans and is an important step towards implementing the European Green Deal. They clearly show that the EU is determined to achieve its climate goals and that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is not slowing down our transition to clean energy, but accelerating our work and progress to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Next steps
Today's provisional agreement now needs to be formally adopted by the Parliament and the Council. Once this process is complete, the new legislation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force.
Background
The revision of the CO2 emission standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles is one of the proposals put forward by the Commission in July 2021 as part of the "Fit for 55" initiative initiative to shape the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and tax policies in such a way that net greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
This reduction in emissions over the coming decade is a crucial step on Europe's path to becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and realizing the European Green Deal. The legal instruments are intended to achieve the targets agreed in the European Climate Law and fundamentally realign our economy and society for a fair, green and prosperous future.
But still loopholes and alternatives?
So much for the official communication. Apparently there are to be exemptions for car manufacturers with a maximum of 10,000 vehicles produced and, according to Vogel Media, the ban on combustion engines in cars and vans will be put to the test again in 2026 anyway. The e-fuel issue may also be reviewed again.
How a ban on combustion engines in new cars will ultimately affect old cars is hardly being discussed at the moment. However, the situation for old cars is unlikely to get any easier due to the dominance of electric cars ...