New EU emission rules ‘will push up costs’ for motorists

The European Parliament has finally passed long-anticipated legislation to enforce a 95g/km average carbon-dioxide limit on carmakers from 2020. The plan, first proposed more than a year ago, would see average vehicle emissions trimmed from the 130g/km limit that comes into official force next year. It would also fine carmakers €95 per g/km per vehicle for anyone breaching the limit.

In spite of that apparent stringency, and the need for the car industry to trim its average by 35g/km in five years, many environmental campaigners are calling the final ruling a fudge; they say the German government pushed for watered-down rules on behalf of its carmakers. Revisions it requested delayed the implementation of the new regulation until now.

Greg Archer of the pressure group Transport & Environment says, "This one-year delay to the car-emissions law was an unnecessary weakening to please luxury German carmakers. Nevertheless, the final agreement is still a good deal for the environment, EU economy and drivers, reducing fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions by 27 per cent over six years."

Transport & Environment says the agreement has been weakened in two key ways. The first is through “supercredits”, effectively an accountancy sleight of hand that allows carmakers producing zero-emission electric vehicles to offset those against higher-emission cars.

Green campaigners have criticised the supercredits plan as a sop to carmakers that want to continue to sell high-emission, high-profit vehicles such as SUVs and high-performance sports cars. But the motor industry sees them as crucial to maintaining the competitiveness of companies that have been badly hit by the collapse of the European car market.

Jason Reakes, head of government affairs for BMW UK, says that supercredits are "not a loophole but an extremely important and effective means, without placing additional burdens on the taxpayer or on government budgets, of accelerating the introduction of electric cars as quickly as possible in order to contribute to carbon- dioxide reductions and encourage the early market uptake of alternative drivetrain technologies."

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association backed up that thinking when it cautiously welcomed the new 95g/km legislation.

“The European automobile industry already invests €32 billion into R&D annually, much of which goes towards fuel-efficiency technologies, putting the European industry in the global lead for clean vehicles,” says a spokesperson.

“The industry is committed to going on investing in environmentally friendly technologies. To make this possible, it calls upon the European institutions to deliver on their commitments to better support the global competitiveness of the automobile industry.”

The second watering-down of the 95g/km agreement, according to campaigners, is the fact that the top 5 per cent of high-emission vehicles will be opted out from the legislation for the first year, meaning that carmakers will have an extra 12 months to get their emission houses in order.

Transport & Environment says the year’s grace effectively weakens the 95g/km limit by as much as 3g/km. It also estimates that the agreement means motorists will be up to €775 worse off simply because the legislation does not push carmakers hard enough. Archer claims that, because the 95g/km limit is effectively being watered down, the EU will have to import as much as €25 billion of extra oil for fuel.

"It is outrageous that EU countries, prompted by Angela Merkel's government, bent to the interests of luxury German carmakers at the expense of the environment, jobs and the wider economy," he says. "But it's a hollow victory for Germany and its car manufacturers. The political cost of such heavy-handed lobbying is huge, and people will rightly ask after this episode whether German luxury carmakers are really technology leaders."