Missed opportunity for cleaner, more efficient vans say Greens

The European Parliament today (14 January) voted to confirm a legislative agreement on rules setting CO2 emissions limits for light commercial vehicles (vans). The Greens expressed regret about the "lack of ambition" in the outcome, which merely confirms previously set limits for 2020 (1).

After the vote, Green environment spokesperson Carl Schlyter said: “We have missed an opportunity to push for cleaner, more efficient vans. More ambitious CO2 limits make both economic and environmental sense, with an estimated €5,000 net savings per van over its lifetime through fuel efficiency, as well as making a greater contribution towards reaching our climate change goals. Regrettably, this legislation merely confirms unambitious limits for 2020, which were set in 2011 based on incomplete data, and fails to set 2025 limits. This outcome will fail to stimulate real innovation towards cleaner and more efficient vans.

"This will deprive consumers of the benefits of more fuel-efficient vans, as well as failing to fully capitalize on the potential for reducing these climate-damaging emissions from vans. Regrettably, this legislative review also failed to remove key loopholes (eco-innovation bonuses and super-credits), which undermine the integrity of the overall CO2 limit. The difference between fuel consumption in production cars and test values is also not tackled. By failing to resolve these, the EU is in effect legislating for manufacturers to bypass their limits. Instead of a win-win solution, which more ambitious rules would have delivered for consumers and the climate, the end result is a victory for the lobbyists of the least innovative van manufacturers."

(1) The legislation confirms the 147 grammes of CO2 per km fleet average limit for 2020.

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