Source : Procurement Leaders
EU officials are discussing with automakers how the 95g/km carbon emissions target can be met, ahead of proposals from the European Commission to make it legally binding.
At a closed meeting in Brussels this week, the European carmakers’ association ACEA told policymakers that meeting the target would be "extremely challenging", and require a partial shift in production towards hybrid and electric vehicles.
In 2009, the EU adopted rules forcing carmakers to cut average car emissions to 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/km) by 2015. That goal, which carmakers are on course to meet, gave Europe a clear global lead in vehicle efficiency policies.
Since then, however, the EU’s non-binding target of moving to 95g/km by 2020 has been surpassed by the United States, which has set an emissions standard for cars equivalent to 70-80g/km by 2025, while China and Japan are also catching up fast.
Europe’s carmakers are struggling with declining domestic sales and overcapacity in parts of the sector, leading some in the industry to argue that tough carbon goals will heap more pressure on tight profit margins.
"It’s not going to be any big hurdle, but it’ll be uncomfortable for some of the carmakers," Lars Holmqvist, head of EU automotive suppliers’ association CLEPA, told Reuters.
ACEA and some of its members, including PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat, have called for EU-wide measures to tackle the bloc’s production overcapacity, which analysts and executives estimate is at least 20%.
"The steps taken by the Obama administration turned the automotive crisis into an opportunity," campaigner groups Greenpeace, and Transport and Environment, said in a letter sent this week to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. "We believe the EU should adopt a similar strategy."
At this week’s meeting in Brussels, a Dutch government official suggested an indicative EU target of 70g/km for 2025, which would represent the lower end when compared with existing US standards.
"The US has already set 2025 targets. The EU should set the benchmark, not follow it," the official said.