Considerations on COM(2023)88 - Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO₂ emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and integrating reporting obligations - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2023)88 - Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO₂ emission performance standards for new heavy-duty ... |
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| document | COM(2023)88  |
| date | February 14, 2023 |
(2) The European Green Deal combines a comprehensive set of mutually reinforcing measures and initiatives aimed at achieving climate neutrality in the Union by 2050, and sets out a new growth strategy that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. It also aims to protect, conserve and enhance the Union's natural capital, and protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment-related risks and impacts. At the same time, this transition affects women and men differently and has a particular impact on some disadvantaged groups, such as older people, persons with disabilities and persons with a minority racial or ethnic background. It must therefore be ensured that the transition is just and inclusive, leaving no one behind.
(3) The Union committed to reducing the Union’s economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030 below 1990 levels in the updated nationally determined contribution submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat on 17 December 2020.
(4) In Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council 11 , the Union has enshrined the target of economy-wide climate neutrality by 2050 in legislation. That Regulation also establishes a binding Union domestic reduction commitment of net greenhouse gas emissions (emissions after deduction of removals) of at least 55 % below 1990 levels by 2030.
(5) All sectors of the economy are expected to contribute to achieving those emission reductions, including the road transport sector.
(6) The “Fit for 55” legislative package, adopted by the European Commission in 2021, aims to implement the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. It covers a range of policy areas. The revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 of the European Parliament and of the Council 12 is an integral part of that package.
(7) The REPowerEU Communication 13 outlined a plan to make the Union independent from Russian fossil fuels well before the end of this decade. The Communication highlights the importance, among others, of further increasing the efficiency and reducing fossil consumption in the transport sector, where electrification can be combined with the use of fossil-free hydrogen to replace fossil fuels.
(8) In order to contribute to the reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55 % by 2030 compared to 1990 and in conformity with the energy efficiency first principle, it is necessary to strengthen the reduction requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 for heavy-duty vehicles. A clear pathway also needs to be set for further reductions beyond 2030 to contribute to achieving the climate neutrality objective by 2050.
(9) The strengthened CO2 emission reduction requirements should incentivise an increasing share of zero-emission vehicles being deployed on the Union market whilst providing benefits to users and citizens in terms of air quality and energy savings, as well as ensuring that innovation in the automotive value chain can be maintained. Zero-emission vehicles currently include battery electric vehicles, fuel-cell and other hydrogen-powered vehicles, and technological innovations are continuing.
(10) Against that background, new strengthened CO2 emission reduction targets should be set for new heavy-duty vehicles for the period 2030 onwards. Those targets should be set at a level that will deliver a strong signal to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission vehicles on the Union market and to stimulate innovation in zero-emission technologies in a cost-efficient way.
(11) The updated New Industrial Strategy 14 foresees the co-creation of green and digital transition pathways in partnership with industry, public authorities, social partners and other stakeholders. In this context, a transition pathway is being developed for the mobility ecosystem to accompany the transition of the automotive value chain. The pathway takes particular heed of small and medium-sized enterprizes in the automotive supply chain, of the consultation of social partners including by Member States, and also build on the European Skills Agenda with initiatives like the Pact for Skills to mobilise the private sector and other stakeholders to up-skill and re-skill Europe’s workforce in view of the green and digital transitions and on the Talent Booster Mechanism in the framework of the Harnessing Talents in EU regions initiative. The appropriate actions and incentives at the European and national level to boost the affordability of zero-emission vehicles are also being addressed in the pathway. This could, for example, include the possibility for Member States to use the proposed Social Climate Fund to assist micro-enterprises in the purchasing of zero-emission trucks and lorries.
The Green Deal Industrial Plan 15 will enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. Such plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the EU's manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious climate targets.
(12) The Union fleet-wide targets are to be complemented by the necessary roll-out of recharging and refuelling infrastructure as set out in the Commission Proposal for a regulation on the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure 16 .
(13) The transition to climate neutrality requires significant investments in the electricity grids including enhanced capacity, resilience and storage, as well as additional connections. Concerning the heavy-duty vehicles, with the target levels proposed in Article 3a for the year 2030 the share of zero emission vehicles in the total fleet of vehicles circulating on the road as well as the electricity consumption in the sector will remain limited. Therefore the related impact on the electricity grid will remain limited as well.
(14) Manufacturers should be provided with sufficient flexibility in adapting their fleets over time in order to manage the transition towards zero-emission vehicles in a cost-efficient manner, and it is therefore appropriate to maintain the approach of decreasing target levels in five-year steps.
(15) Due to the heterogeneous structure of the total truck fleet, it is not possible to fully predict whether for all niche uses, technological developments will be quick enough to ensure that zero-emission tailpipe technology is a viable choice. This may include uses such as long-haul heavy-duty vehicles in specific territorial morphology and meteorological circumstances, coaches and lorries for critical security and safety applications that cannot be fulfilled by zero-emission tailpipe technologies. The vehicles in question should constitute a limited share of the entire heavy-duty vehicle fleet. In view of such considerations, some margin in the 2040 target should be left to accommodate developments in technology yet to occur.
(16) Contracting authorities or contracting entities should consider, when basing the award of contracts for the purchase or the use of vehicles referred to in point 4.2 of Annex I, the resilience of supply, including by considering the “Guidance on the participation of third country bidders and goods in the EU procurement market” (C(2019) 5494 final).
(17) With the stricter Union fleet-wide targets from 2030 onwards, manufacturers will have to deploy significantly more zero-emission vehicles on the Union market. In that context, the incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles (‘ZLEV’) would no longer serve its original purpose and would risk undermining the effectiveness of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242. The ZLEV incentive mechanism should therefore be removed as of 2030.
(18) The possibility of assigning the revenue from the excess emission premiums to a specific fund or relevant programme has been evaluated as required pursuant to Article 15(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, with the conclusion that this would significantly increase the administrative burden, while not directly benefit the automotive sector in its transition. Revenue from the excess emission premiums should therefore continue to be considered as revenue for the general budget of the Union in accordance with Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242.
(19) The subject matter should be enlarged to also cover the monitoring and reporting obligations which are integrated into Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 by means of this Regulation.
(20) Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 should be amended in order to cover the same scope as Regulation (EU) 2018/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council 17 .
(21) For vehicles, which are not in the scope of the automotive type-approval legislation, such as agricultural and forestry tractors, vehicles designed and constructed for the use by armed forces and track-laying vehicles, the CO2 emissions are not determined and therefore these vehicles do not have to meet the CO2 targets set in this Regulation.
Vehicles designed and constructed or adapted for use by civil protection, fire services and forces responsible for maintaining public order, or urgent medical care that are voluntarily type-approved should also be exempted from having to meet the CO2 targets of this Regulation in order not to create an incentive to no longer type-approve such vehicles voluntarily, which would have negative safety and environmental implications, unless the manufacturer asks for including these vehicles.
Member States should also be entitled to indicate an exemption from having to meet the targets for vehicles, not specifically designed, but registered, for use by civil protection, fire services, forces responsible for maintaining the public order, armed services or urgent medical care, such as normal coaches used for the transport of police or army forces, by confirming that such exemption responds to the public interest.
As for certain vehicle groups, which are type-approved, CO2 emissions are not determined yet for technical reasons, these vehicles do not have to meet the CO2 targets set by this Regulation. These are for example special purpose vehicles, such as mobile cranes, carriers of hydraulic multi-equipment or exceptional load transport vehicles, off-road vehicles, such as certain vehicles used for mining, forestry and agricultural purposes, as well as other vehicles with non-standard axle configurations such as vehicles with more than 4 axles or more than 2 driven axles, small buses with a maximum mass lower than 7,5 t, and small lorries with a maximum mass lower than 5t.
Vocational vehicles, such as garbage trucks, tippers or concrete mixers, should continue to be exempted from the calculation of average specific CO2 emissions of manufacturers.
(22) Certain definitions should be introduced in order to harmonize the terminology with that of the vehicle type-approval legislation of the Union, in particular Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council 18 and Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2400 19 .
(23) For the purposes of the newly introduced transfer of vehicles between manufacturers and of establishing an exemption for manufacturers producing only few vehicles, a definition of the term of ‘group of connected entities’ should be added to Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, in substance following the terminology used in Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council 20 for light-duty vehicles.
(24) For defining the obligations of individual manufacturers, Union fleet-wide CO₂ reduction targets for the new heavy-duty vehicle fleet should be translated into specific reduction targets for subgroups that should be defined by the technical characteristics of the vehicles they comprise.
(25) Since the CO2 emissions related to trailers have a strong impact on the overall CO2 emissions and energy consumption of motor vehicles, respective targets for the trailers should also be defined.
(26) Due to the technical readiness of the sub-sector and the need to improve air quality in cities, a mandatory minimum share of new zero-emission urban buses should be set.
(27) A mandatory minimum share of zero-emission urban buses should reflect the societal need for affordable public transport, including in rural areas. The increased supply of zero-emission urban buses that result from such a mandatory minimum share should have a positive effect on purchasing cost, both in terms of upfront purchase price and the total cost of ownership of zero-emission urban buses, reflecting fossil fuel savings resulting from their operation. Joint procurement of urban buses building on the Clean Bus Platform can bring the purchasing cost of such buses further down, and the proposed Social Climate Fund could be used by Member States to support vulnerable citizens with reduced or free public transport tickets or subscriptions. Finally, regional and long-distance buses and coaches, including for transport in rural areas, remain subject to the targets for heavy duty vehicles. Support from the Social Climate Fund could address specific needs of rural areas and prevent transport poverty 21 by securing access to affordable public transport.
(28) The zero- and low-emission factor should last be applied for the reporting period of the year 2029, because it is no longer considered necessary after that time as an incentive to promote the market entrance of zero-emission vehicles.
(29) As commercial rather than legal entities should be considered for compliance, economically connected manufacturers should, within certain limits, be allowed to transfer vehicles between them for the purposes of accounting these vehicles under Regulation (EU) 2019/1242.
(30) Furthermore, in order to strengthen the development of new zero-emission technologies in specialized small- and medium-sized companies, it should also be possible to transfer zero-emission vehicles between non-connected entities.
(31) In order to avoid disproportionally high costs of compliance and in order to reduce the administrative burden, manufacturers producing few vehicles fulfilling certain legal requirements should be exempted from compliance with CO2-emission targets. As they are required to comply with the reporting obligations of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, there is an appropriate control mechanism for those manufacturers.
(32) The existing system of multi-annual emission credits and emission debts should be extended to 2039 as reduction targets keep strengthening beyond 2030 until 2040 and require forward-looking technical developments of manufacturers during that period.
(33) Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 should for each vehicle category clearly stipulate who is the manufacturer to whom a vehicle should be attributed, thereby specifically taking account of the different constellations for vehicles of category M.
(34) The rules on the verification of the monitoring data should also cover possible ex post corrections of errors in such reported data and how the Commission should handle such corrections for implementing the CO2-emission fleet targets.
(35) The assessment of the reference CO2 emissions should be amended to also cover the vehicle subgroups newly included in the scope of Regulation 2019/1242.
(36) Monitoring and reporting by manufacturers and Member States is an essential precondition for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1242. Merging Regulation (EU) 2018/956 into Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 should produce synergies and allow for interpretation of the provisions taking into account the objectives of both Regulations.
(37) On the occasion of merging monitoring and reporting provisions into Regulation (EU) 2019/1242, the opportunity should be seized to slightly modify those provisions in light of the experiences gained from the first two reporting cycles under Regulation (EU) 2018/956.
(38) Taking account of the fact that the determination will no longer be carried out by manufacturers alone, reporting of CO₂ emissions and other technical data of the vehicles should be extended beyond manufacturers to those entities which perform the determination of the vehicles under Regulation (EU) 2017/2400 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1362 22 . The data to be reported should comprise the manufacturer’s record file.
(39) The Commission should be enabled to take into account technical progress, the evolution of freight transport logistics, necessary adjustments based on the application of this Regulation and amendments of the underlying type-approval legislation and to ensure that the data requirements and the monitoring and reporting procedure remain relevant over time for assessing the heavy-duty vehicle fleet’s contribution to CO₂ emissions, to ensure the availability of data on new and advanced CO₂ reducing technologies and on the results of on-road verification test and to ensure that the air drag value ranges remain relevant for information and comparability purposes, as well as to supplement the provisions on administrative fines.
(40) For these reasons, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the criteria defining vehicles sub-groups, defining vocational vehicles, for the operational ranges of different powertrain technologies, the list and weight of mission profiles, the payloads, passenger numbers, passenger masses, technically permissible maximum payloads, technically permissible maximum passenger number and cargo volumes of vehicle sub-groups and annual mileages values, amending the data requirements and the monitoring and reporting procedure laid down in Annexes to this Regulation, of specifying the data to be reported by the Member States for the monitoring of the results of on-road verification tests, of amending the air drag value ranges, and of defining the criteria, the calculation and the method of collection of administrative fines imposed on manufacturers. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(41) Regulation (EU) 2018/956 should be repealed with a timeline allowing the reporting period ongoing at the moment of entry into force of this Regulation be concluded under the rules applicable at the beginning of that reporting period, including all after-processing of the data collected. Accordingly, this Regulation should be applied from the beginning of the following reporting period.
(42) Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 should therefore be amended accordingly.