March 2023
- Press Releases
EBB Statement on the proposal for a Regulation revising CO2 emissions performance standards for new cars and vans
Brussels, 29 March 2023: yesterday, EU Energy Ministers formally adopted an agreement on the revised EU CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles during the meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.
The new rules aim to reduce emissions from road transport, one of the largest CO2 emitters of all EU sectors, taking a step forward in decarbonising the sector and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Responding to growing demands from several Member States caling for a role for renewable and low carbon liquid fuels to be given within this regulation, the European Commission issued a statement attached to the vote. Unfortunately, this statement only refers to e-fuels and excludes all non-synthetic renewable solutions like biodiesel. We regret the Commission's failure to recognise the role of biodiesel (HVO and FAME), a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels that today already significantly helps to reduce transport CO2 emissions, wirh savings up to 90%.
Nevertheless, now that the door to technology neutrality seems finaly reopened, we will engage with the European Commission to stress the need for their upcoming work to take into account the role of biodiesel in their forthcoming proposal on the definition of carbon-neutral fuels, as well as in the ongoing legislative work on the CO2 standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDVs). Heavy transport is a challenging sector to tackle, and only by using all available tools, including sustainable biofuels, will the EU be able to meet its ambitious targets.