European Panel Proposes 28% Cut in CO2 for Commercial Vehicles

The European Parliament's environment committee has approved a draft law that would require light-duty commercial vehicles to reduce their average carbon dioxide emissions to 147 g/km by 2020 from 203 g/km currently.

The European Union group further proposes a CO₂ target range for light commercial vehicles of 105 g/km-120 g/km by 2025.

The rule, intended for manufacturers that make more than 1,000 commercial vehicles per year, also would require by next January that new vans be electronically limited to a top speed of 120 kph (75 mph).

Last month the committee approved a draft law for cars that would limit their average allowable CO₂ emissions to 95 g/km by 2020.

Manufacturers of cars and trucks could achieve their targets in part by earning "super credits" for making vehicles that emit less than 50 g/km of CO₂. Next year each qualifying van would count as 3.5 units in calculating a manufacturer's fleet average. The credit would decline to 1.3 in 2018.

None of the proposed standards will become law until EU member states approve them.

Separately, the Parliament committee urges the EU to scrap its New European Driving Cycle test for emissions and fuel efficiency by 2017. The NEDC has been criticized for producing optimistic fuel economy ratings that are virtually impossible to achieve under normal driving conditions.

The committee recommends "as a matter of urgency" that the EU switch to the United Nations' more realistic World Light Duty Test Procedure.