Source: European Parliament
Delivering on the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 and the climate neutrality target by 2050, as enshrined in the European Climate Law[1], calls for ambitious action to ensure a swift decrease in emissions from all sectors, including transport.
The revised CO2 standards Regulation[2] sets targets which get more stringent over time, up to a 100% emission reduction for new cars and vans registered in the EU as of 2035.
These standards drive a gradual transition towards zero-emission mobility, while giving industry enough lead-time to develop an adequate compliance strategy.
The 2025 target requires a 15% reduction of emissions from the 2021 baseline. It was agreed by the co-legislators in 2019 and was confirmed in 2023.
For manufacturers that may not be in a position to achieve target compliance on their own , the regulation provides the option to pool with other manufacturers. Pooling is not mandatory but provides manufacturers with one more flexibility to choose from.
In the Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector[3], the Commission has announced that it will swiftly present additional flexibilities, through a targeted amendment of the CO2 emission standards, which would determine that compliance is assessed over the years of 2025, 2026 and 2027 combined to allow manufacturers to compensate target exceedance in one or two of these years by overachievements in the other year(s).
This will contribute to safeguarding industry’s capacity to invest, keeping the overall ambition of the 2025 targets. The Commission will also accelerate work on the preparation of the review of the regulation.