The EU is aiming to reduce greenhouse emissions from cars from 130 to 95g/km between 2015 and 2020.
Under the current regulation for measuring super-credit eligibility, each car emitting less than 50g/km of CO2 will be counted as 3.5 passenger vehicles in 2012 and 2013, 2.5 in 2014, 1.5 in 2015 and then 1 from 2016 onwards in contributing to manufacturers’ CO2 targets for their entire fleet.
But greens say the law, which is currently undergoing amendment in order to implement the 2020 target, is essentially a loop-hole that does not provide industry with incentives to lower average fleet emissions, as carmakers can continue to build gas-guzzlers in exchange for producing a few low-emissions vehicles.
‘Weakened’ targets
Speaking at a European Parliament workshop on the EU’s Cars 2020 strategy, Greg Archer, a clean vehicles campaigner at Transport & Environment, told EU and industry officials: “With super credits we won’t have a 95 gram target other than on paper”.
Archer said the scheme in practice could ratchet up emissions levels to 105 or 115g/km in that year. He called for lawmakers to set stronger targets for the post 2020 period.
The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) recently released a proposal calling for 2.5 credits for each low-emitting car for the period 2016-2020, a substantial increase on Commission figures.
Academics, and representatives from Greenpeace and the European consumer organisation BEUC voiced concerns the proposed regulation could weaken the emissions reduction target.
Franziska Achterberg, a Greenpeace EU transport advisor, said she thought there was strong evidence for the 10g figure given by Archer.
She told EurActiv the 10g was based on battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles achieving a 5% share of the European car market, which she insisted was a within most projections for 2020.
“The minimal level that anybody assumes is 2% and the maximum level 20% or even 23%,” she said.
Incentives
But Ivan Hodac, the secretary general of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said super credits would encourage industry to invest in “expensive” sustainable technologies.
“We need incentives or [electric cars] won’t get onto the market, because they are not affordable”, he told officials.
He said super credits would attract more investment than the government offering subsidies for consumers to purchase low-carbon vehicles.
He said this would provide “an EU signal to manufacturers until such time that they become value for money”.
Average cars
But for Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, a professor at Duisburg-Essen University and the Center for Automotive Research, industry should focus more on using current, inexpensive technology to lower the average emissions of its fleet rather than pouring huge amounts of money into advanced systems.
He said engine innovations meant that even current compact cars were on track to meet the 130g/km target well before 2015.
“You don’t need to invent anything new”, he said.
“The average car has too much power. If you reduce this it has a knock-on effect on emissions”.
