The European Council and Parliament will enact legislation that will effectively ban internal combustion engine vehicles from production by 2035.
EU negotiators secured an agreement with member states on the Commission’s original proposal to reach zero-emission road mobility by 2035 Ahead of the UN COP27 Climate Change Conference the move shows that the EU is serious about adopting concrete laws to reach more ambitious targets.
Parliament succeeded in introducing methodology for the assessment and data reporting of full life-cycle CO2 emissions of cars and vans sold on the EU market. The Commission will present this methodology by 2025, accompanied by legislative proposals where appropriate.
The Commission will also publish a report by the end of 2025, and every two years thereafter, to evaluate progress towards zero-emission road mobility.
It will cover the impact on consumers and employment, the progress in energy efficiency and affordability of zero- and low- emission vehicles as well as information on the market for second-hand vehicles.
Aligning emission limit values with real-world emissions
The European Commission says it will monitor and report annually the gap between the emission limit values and the real-world fuel and energy consumption data, with the aim to adjust the manufacturer’s average specific emissions of CO2 as of 2030.
Under the deal, existing EU funding should be channelled to transitioning to zero-emission vehicles and related technologies, and especially towards SMEs along the automotive supply chain and vulnerable regions and communities.
The incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles (‘ZLEV’) is revised with a higher benchmark in order to ensure that it is aligned with the current sales trends and brings affordable zero-emissions cars on the EU market;
Manufacturers responsible for small production volumes in a calendar year (1,000 to 10,000 new cars or 1,000 to 22,000 new vans) may be granted a derogation until the end of 2035 (those responsible for less than 1,000 new vehicle registrations per year continue to be exempt).
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Rapporteur Jan Huitema (Renew, NL) said: “With these targets, we create clarity for the car industry and stimulate innovation and investments for car manufacturers. In addition, purchasing and driving zero-emission cars will become cheaper for consumers. I am pleased that today we reached an agreement with the Council on an ambitious revision of the targets for 2030 and supported a 100% target for 2035. This is crucial to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and make clean driving more affordable.”
Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before it can come into force.
