FIT FOR 55 FACTSHEET: CO2 Standards For Cars And Vans

By Maria Constantinescu

For the average emissions of the new passenger car fleet the new EU fleet-wide target is equal to a 15% reduction of the 2021 target.	Replaced with an increased target of 20% by 2025.
Life-cycle assessment methodology: By 2023 the Commission could evaluate the possibility of a common Union methodology for reporting CO2 emissions for cars and vans.	The Commission has to publish a report by 2023 setting out the common methodology, including one for the life-cycle CO2 emissions of fuels and energy consumed by the vehicles mentioned.
Not found in the Commission proposal.	New article proposed by ITRE: On a voluntary basis, from January 2024 onwards, the manufacturers can submit the life-cycle CO2 emissions data for cars and vans to the competent authorities at the national level and subsequently to the Commission.
CO2 savings will be possible through the use of innovative technologies whose total contribution may be up to 7g CO2/km.	Sets a deadline (2024) by when the total contribution of eco-innovation technologies should be gradually decreasing – 5g CO2/km from 2025 – 5g CO2/km from 2027 and – 2g CO2/km from 2030 to 2034
Zero emissions road mobility reporting by the Commission: every two years starting 2025.	Every year reporting by the Commission by 2025,  including: the impacts on consumers, especially on those with low and medium incomes; the market for second-hand vehicles, renewable energy, and synthetic fuels.
Member States do not need to prepare transition plans for the automotive industry.	Member States will be expected to prepare Territorial Just Transition Plans for their automotive industry.
Excess emissions and funding: The amounts of the excess emissions premium shall be considered as revenue for the general budget of the Union.	By December 2023 the Commission must report on the need for targeted funding to ensure a just transition in the automotive sector and present a new legislative proposal that can be used as a financial instrument, which can be part of the Social Climate Fund or a revised Just Transition Fund.

Commentary:

While it was interesting to follow the votes for all the 14 compromise amendments, it was definitely surprising to see that half of them did not pass. Looking into the original amendments list, most of those that passed were mainly recitals of past articles, which not only are not legally binding, but also do not add structure or clarity to the legislation.

Most of the additional amendments that passed reflect the need for further legislative proposals from the Commission, or amend current legislative pieces touching upon fuels, energy, and incentives for the private sector in order to keep up with the changing landscape.

The good news is that synthetic fuels missed their spotlight in this proposal, as tests clearly show that during their usage they would still emit NO_x, itself a potent Greenhouse Gas. 

On a not so positive note, expectations regarding a proposed interim target in 2027 and a higher 2030 goal, which would require the manufacturers to speed up the sales of electric cars, were high, however, none of them passed the voting. This means that the prices for electric vehicles might not go down at the expected rate. Instead MEPs took a more precautionary approach regarding the targets: the first one is expected by 2025 with 20%, followed by a 55% target in 2030 and 100% in 2035. Targets are relative to 2021 emissions.

As a next step the current measures that passed the voting have to be adopted during the June plenary of the European Parliament, thus  formalising the Parliament’s position on the topic before entering the final legislative round with the governments of the EU Member States.