Month: October 2018

CO2 targets – Automotive suppliers urge co-legislators to take into account the risk for employment

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Member States in the Council have adopted their position (‘general approach’) on the regulation for CO2 targets for cars and vans. Environment ministers decided to raise the target for cars for 2030 by 5 percentage points to 35%, raise the threshold of the mechanism to incentivise zero and low emission vehicles by 5 percentage points to 35% whilst better weighting low emission vehicles in the mechanism.

 

in CLEPA, 10-10-2018

 

“Both the European Parliament and the governments in the Council have now opted to increase the level of ambition. Automotive suppliers see the targets that have been proposed by the European Commission as challenging yet balanced. Going strongly beyond the Commission proposal carries risks to the industrial footprint of the automotive suppliers industry in Europe, putting high-value jobs in the balance”, says Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of the association of the automotive suppliers industry (CLEPA). “Automotive suppliers advocate an ambitious transformation rather than negative disruption.”

 

“It will be crucial to not set the targets too high and provide the right boundary conditions through a positive incentive mechanism for low and zero emission vehicles. Specifically, a ‘malus’ as requested by the Parliament will have a negative effect. Better weighting of low emission vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids, is positive”, says de Vries.

 

“Only a technology neutral regulation will ensure that emissions will be reduced efficiently. However, there is strong pressure towards favouring battery-electric vehicles at the expense of other solutions, such as hybridisation and alternative fuels, which have a major potential to contribute to decarbonisation. Furthermore, it will be important to confirm that the step forward to well-to-wheel or life-cycle analysis will be done in future legislation.”

 

“Automotive suppliers fully support the goal of decarbonising mobility and produce a wealth of technologies to achieve this. It is a declared aim to remain globally competitive with a large variety of smart, safe and green mobility-related technologies, supporting the jobs of five million people in Europe today. Competitive regulation supporting both the environment as well as employment is a key to Europe’s success.”

 

Tripartite negotiations between Council, European Parliament and Commission are scheduled to begin today.

Automotive suppliers urge co-legislators to stay with CO2 targets proposed by European Commission

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“The European Commission proposal of a 30% reduction is a challenging yet realistic target, based on a thorough evaluation of the various elements at stake, environmental priorities prevailing”, comments Roberto Vavassori, President of CLEPA, the association of the automotive suppliers’ industry. “We call on the co-legislators not to go beyond the original proposal. Any target above 30% is exposing our industry to a concrete risk of disruption.”

 

Member States are expected to take a decision on their position on October 9 at the Environment Council. Once both institutions have adopted their respective positions, tripartite negotiations will resume with the aim of agreeing and adopting the legislation.

 

“Automotive suppliers fully support the goal of decarbonising mobility and produce a wealth of technologies to achieve this. Technology neutrality is an important compass which regulators should not abandon, as it enables the deployment of the broadest spectrum of solutions. Today´s vote, however, favours Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) at the expense of other solutions, such as hybridisation and alternative fuels, which have a major potential to contribute to decarbonisation as well,” adds Vavassori.

 

“It is our declared aim to remain globally competitive with a large variety of smart, safe and green mobility-related technologies, supporting the jobs of five million people in Europe today. Competitive regulation supporting both the environment as well as employment is a key to Europe’s success”, says Vavassori.

 

“It is crucial too that the boundary conditions for the regulation will be improved in the weeks to come”, says Sigrid de Vries, CLEPA Secretary General. “Today, MEPs not only voted for a stricter regime for ‘eco-innovations’, technology solutions which reduce emissions without being recognised by the test cycle. They also supported a ‘malus’, a penalty for vehicle manufacturers which fail to achieve a benchmark of mostly battery electric vehicles as a proportion of their overall sales. This amounts to a de facto prescription of technology. It is disappointing that proposals for a better recognition in the benchmark of hybrid technology have been rejected.”

 

The Parliament also calls on the Commission to develop a methodology for the life-cycle analysis of embedded emissions in fuel and energy production as well as in the manufacture of vehicles and parts. “This is important to level the playing field for combustion engines, electric vehicles and the many variants in between. Making the step towards well-to-wheel or life-cycle analysis is a welcome approach for future legislation”, says De Vries.

 

Members of the European Parliament approved the report 389 in favour, 239 against and 41 abstentions and adopted the mandate for the rapporteur to begin tripartite negotiations with the Council and the Commission.