EU to legislate on lower car emissions

New cars sold in the European market will have to cut emissions by 2012, according to new proposals unveiled by the European Commission in Brussels yesterday.

The Commission will be transforming the new policy into EU-wide legislation by the end of this year.

On average, cars sold in the EU emit between 186 and 163 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. The EU has now established a benchmark of not more than 120 grammes per kilometre by 2012.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso called this strategy the most ambitious approach ever worldwide towards the development of a low-carbon economy, considered vital for averting climate change.

Improvements in vehicle technology would have to reduce average emissions to no more than 130g/km, while complementary measures would contribute a further emissions cut of up to 10g/km. Such measures include efficiency improvements for car components with the highest impact on fuel consumption, such as tyres and air conditioning systems and a gradual reduction in the carbon content of road fuels, notably through greater use of biofuels.

For vans, the fleet average emission targets would be 175 grammes by 2012 and 160 grammes by 2015, compared with 201 grammes in 2002.

At present, car manufacturers are only obliged to try to cut emissions on a voluntary basis. However, the Commission said this did not work and has had only limited success, so much so that between 1995 and 2004, average emissions from new cars sold in the old 15 member only fell slightly.

Road transport generates about one fifth of the EU's carbon dioxide emissions with passenger cars responsible for about 12 per cent. Although there has been significant improvements over recent years in vehicle technology, particularly in fuel efficiency, these has not been enough to neutralise the effect of increases in traffic and car sizes.

While the EU-25 reduced overall emissions of gasses by almost five per cent between 1990 and 2004, carbon dioxide emissions from road transport rose by 26 per cent.