Supplier Group Lauds EU CO2 Plan for 2020

European auto suppliers group CLEPA says the new carbon dioxide limits proposed by the EU for 2020 are "well balanced" between cost and environmental goals, Reuters reports.

The plan would require the new passenger vehicles a carmaker sells to average CO₂ emissions of 95 grams or less per kilometer by 2020. The current target is 130 g/km by 2015.

CLEPA CEO Jean-Marc Gales tells the news service the new target can be reached with available technologies that would add about €1,000 to a vehicle's price. The group estimates that European consumers would recoup that amount from fuel savings over about two years.

Gales says that existing technology also could enable carmakers to attain the 80 g/km goal favored by environmentalists. But he opines that the cost burden on consumers would be too great.

Gales declares the proposed increase in the van emission target to 147 g/km in 2020 from the existing goal of 175 g/km by 2015 is "quite feasible."

CLEPA contends that adopting the proposed rules would give Europe's automakers a global technical advantage as other countries tighten their own CO₂ regulations.

But the group notes several potential pitfalls in its scenario for meeting the 95 g/km target. CLEPA's calculations are based on current EU testing methods and assume a significant proportion of diesel engines in the sales mix. The European Commission has proposed changes to fuel taxes that would eliminate diesel's current price advantage, which could dampen the fuel's popularity. The EC also may change the way emissions are measured.