In October 2014 EU heads of state decided on new targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Emissions under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) will have to fall by 43% from 2005 levels, and emissions outside the ETS – mainly transport, buildings and agriculture by 30%. The latter target will be made legally binding on member states through a new ‘effort sharing decision’ or ESD, for which the Commission will make a proposal in 2016.

Next week (18 June) will see EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, Internal Market and Industry Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, hold a high-level conference on EU action to decarbonise the road transport sector.

In response, the T&E report sets out three possible 2030 targets for GHG emissions from the transport sector – -20, -30 and -40% compared with 2005 levels – and finds that for the middle-of-the-road scenario where transport would cut CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030, CO2 standards for all vehicles (cars, vans and lorries) in 2025 and 2030 would deliver 42% of the emissions reduction required from transport.

The report also says that apart from the stringency of the standards, the year in which they are introduced is key: the earlier the better. It adds that it takes time for better new vehicles to make an impact on total fleet emissions and that standards need to be introduced in 2025 at the latest; introduction by 2030 renders them a lot less effective for meeting the 2030 ESD target.

William Todts, transport policy manager at T&E, said: “Our research shows one simple fact: without fuel efficiency standards for cars, vans and lorries, EU countries will struggle to meet their 2030 climate obligations. But if the EU sets 2025 standards for cars, vans and trucks, the climate targets could be reached in a way that is good for both the economy and the environment."

T&E added the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has compiled a position paper in which it is lobbying the Commission to delay any new fuel efficiency standards for cars and vans until after 2030 while there is no mention about setting CO2 limits for lorries.

The T&E study ran the ACEA scenario (no new CO2 limits for cars, vans and lorries until after 2030) and said it found that it would leave a very large gap to be filled with national measures such as fuel taxation, road tolls, forced modal shift or a radical overhaul of spatial planning.

“ACEA has been singing the same tune for years. For them it’s always up to others to solve the problem. The reality is that transport is now Europe’s biggest climate problem. Burying the single most effective instrument we have to tackle vehicle emissions until after 2030 would be foolish and would put national governments in a very difficult position,” concluded William Todts.