EU CO2 Legislation Stalls

WORLD VIEW EU CO2 Legislation Stalls BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (Jan. 25, 2007) - The European Commission (EC), the governing body for the European Union (EU), has delayed the announcement of two measures that would have resulted in new cars producing a quarter less carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2012, according to several news services, including Radio Netherlands and the British Broadcasting Corp.

Passenger cars account for 10 percent of European Union CO2 emissions
(Photo: BBC)

The EC had been expected to announce plans to impose mandatory restrictions on CO2 emissions from passenger cars that would oblige automakers to use technology to make cars more efficient or to sell cars with smaller engines. The second measure - a review of the fuel quality directive - would have required oil companies to produce fuels that released 10 percent less CO2 by 2020, taking into account emissions from all stages of the production and consumption process, "from well to wheel."

In addition, the EC was also expected to make a statement on existing plans for an "integrated approach" to reducing CO2 emissions from cars. This approach would address issues such as taxation, labeling, traffic congestion and changing drivers' behaviors. EC spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen says that the delay was the result of ensuring coherence and consistency among all the various proposals.

The idea has also run into opposition from EC members and automakers. EC officials say Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso still favors the ambitious legislation, but "green" lobbyists say they have privately heard the opposite.

Best-laid plans Transportation, along with construction, has the potential to derail the EU's efforts to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, as neither industry is included in the EU's carbon trading scheme. The transportation sector generates more than one-fifth of the overall emissions in Europe. It is also the only one where emissions have been dramatically rising in recent years: by 26 percent between 1990 and 2004. Passenger cars alone account for more than one-tenth of the EU's CO2 emissions. Although the amount of CO2 they produce per kilometer has fallen since 1995, a rise in the number of cars being sold and the distances driven has canceled out any reductions in emissions.

(Graphic: ACEA)

The EC first tried to cap emissions from cars in 1998, when it set voluntary targets to reduce CO2 from all new cars from 180 grams to 140 grams per kilometer (g/km) by 2008. In 1999, carmakers agreed to aim for 140g/km by 2008 - a 25 percent reduction from the 1995 level of 185g/km - but had reached only 162g/km by 2005.

With the car industry set to miss that target, efforts have been led by EC Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas to make it a legal requirement for all new cars sold in the EU to emit no more than a maximum of 120 g/km by 2012, a standard long supported by the EU.
Slowing the pace?
But the idea has apparently run into opposition within the EC itself, as well as from some automakers. EC Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen is against the proposals, arguing that they go too far and are pitted against the car industry. He blocked the move toward legislation, calling instead for an integrated approach that would involve the tire and petroleum industries, as well as seeking improvements in fuel quality.

Both the fuel and car industries warn of higher costs to the consumer if the commission's plans go ahead.

(Graphic: ACEA)

The fuel quality directive would provide an incentive for the rapid introduction of second-generation biofuels, which are not yet available on a commercial scale. EC studies call for biofuels to have a 10 percent share of the fuel market by 2020, but the proposed change to the fuel quality directive "results in completely different numbers," according to Peter Tjan, secretary general of the European Petroleum Industry Association (EUROPIA).

Or full speed ahead? Proponents say the announcements would have been a concrete step toward the "post-industrial revolution" the EC called for just a few weeks ago to tackle climate change. In an open letter to Barroso, a group of 10 non-governmental organizations wrote, "Failing to announce legislation ensuring that the 120g/km target is met would seriously undermine the credibility of the Commission. It would also mean that the Commission fails to deliver on its first real-world policy following the announcement on January 10 of a greenhouse gas reduction target of at least 20 percent by 2020." Jos Dings, director of the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) foresees a struggle between two different approaches to biofuels. On the one hand, the 10 percent share can currently be achieved by production of any biofuels, including varieties whose manufacture entails sizeable CO2 emissions. This approach is favored by the agricultural lobby. On the other hand, the amended fuel quality directive would put a premium on second-generation biofuels, because these allow a big reduction in net CO2 emissions per unit of energy contained in the fuel. Dings suggests that all available mechanisms for reducing emissions from transport have to be grasped with both hands: "The 120g/km limit is absolutely key because it promises such a big reduction in emissions - 25 percent within a few years." He points out that any increase in the cost of the car would be more than offset over its lifetime by savings on fuel, thanks to the engine's greater efficiency. "The commission now needs to put something on the table that makes car makers look at fuel consumption, and that punishes them for making 'gas guzzlers,'" he says. Stephan Singer, head of climate and energy policy for the World Wildlife Federation in Brussels, also hopes that Barroso and the EC will not waver. "The key task for the commission now," he points out, "is to ensure that the next EU summit in March 2007 supports the big shift to a low-carbon economy, outlined on January 10, with its headline goal of a minimum 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020." If the European prime ministers and presidents sign up to that, Singer says, then tough action to rein in emissions from two sectors outside the EU's carbon emissions trading scheme - transport and construction - will become a reality. (Sources: EC, ACEA, EAMA, EUROPIA, T&E, Radio Netherlands, BBC)