Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2017)279 - Proposal for monitoring and reporting of CO2 emissions from and fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2017)279 - Proposal for monitoring and reporting of CO2 emissions from and fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2017)279  |
| date | 31-05-2017 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
This Commission’s primary political objectives are to create jobs, growth and investment, and in this context to make the transition to clean energy for all Europeans. This is underpinned by an investment plan aimed at reindustrialising Europe based on new business models and cutting-edge technologies. The medium- to long-term aim is to achieve, a circular low carbon economy.
In the context of transport, particularly with respect to lorries, buses and coaches, i.e. heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), the Commission’s vision is to ensure that European citizens and business have access to fair, sustainable and competitive mobility.
CO2 emissions and fuel consumption from new HDVs placed on the EU market have so far neither been certified, nor monitored and reported. This knowledge gap gives rise to the following three challenges with respect to HDVs:
(1)Missed opportunities to design policies to reduce the fuel bill for transport operators: Freight transport operators can experience fuel costs greater than a quarter of their operational costs 1 , and rank fuel efficiency as their top purchase criterion. While the fuel efficiency of HDVs has improved over past decades, many of the more than half a million transport companies, which are to a large extent SMEs, do not yet have access to standardised information to evaluate fuel efficiency technologies, compare lorries in order to make the best informed purchasing decisions and reduce their fuel costs. Over time, missed fuel savings have cumulatively increased the EU’s dependency on fossil fuel imports and thus represent a missed opportunity to reduce fuel imports.
(2)Increasing competition for vehicle manufacturers: In 2015, according to industry data, lorry exports generated a trade balance surplus of EUR 5.1 billion. The EU HDV manufacturing sector is part of an automotive industry which generates 12.1 million direct and indirect jobs in Europe (5.6 % of total EU employment) 2 . EU HDV manufacturers face increasing global competitive pressures. Significant markets such as the United States, Canada, Japan and China have in recent years implemented certification and fuel efficiency measures in the form of fuel consumption and/or emission standards, in order to stimulate innovation and rapidly improve vehicle efficiency. The city buses market faces increasing competition in the field of electric vehicles, in particular from Chinese manufacturers. The sector will need to keep up with the technological improvements in these markets to preserve its current market position.
(3)A barrier to setting policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the heavy duty-vehicle sector: The EU HDV sector is a significant source of GHG emissions. In 2014, GHG emissions from HDVs represented 5 % of total EU emissions, a fifth of all transport emissions and about a quarter of road transport emissions 3 . From 1990 to 2014, overall GHG transport emissions 4 increased by 20 % and HDV emissions by 14 % 5 . Without further action, HDV carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are set to increase by up to 10 % between 2010 and 2030 6 . At the same time, the EU has set ambitious targets for GHG reduction by 2030, to which the transport sector must contribute. The EU has an overall domestic emissions reduction target for 2030 of at least 40 % below 1990 levels. This has been split, in a cost-effective manner, into reductions by 2030 compared to 2005 emission levels of 43 % for the emissions from the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) sectors and of 30 % for non-ETS sectors, to which transport belongs. Furthermore, Member States’ transport emissions range from 21 % to 69 % of total national emissions in the non-ETS sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Regulation. While no sector-specific targets have been set for 2030, transport will need to make its contribution to achieving the non-ETS emission reduction target under the Effort Sharing Regulation, together with buildings, agriculture, and waste.
This is why the Commission has taken action to address this knowledge gap.
First, the Commission developed simulation software — the Vehicle Energy Consumption calculation Tool (VECTO) — in order to calculate the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of new HDVs in a comparable and cost-effective manner.
Second, the Commission proposed a new regulation on the determination of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption for new heavy-duty vehicles (so-called certification regulation) under existing type approval legislation 7 . In application of the Commission Regulation on certification, a simulation of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption using VECTO will have to be carried out for each new HDV falling under its scope and placed on the EU market. Vehicle manufacturers themselves will perform the simulation on the basis of the certified input data of the vehicle components and of a certified process of sourcing, managing and applying such input data.
Certification will partly address the identified knowledge gap. Information on the performance of a specific vehicle will be made available only to the individual purchaser of this vehicle and to the national authorities where the vehicle is registered.
Third, the Commission is now proposing to monitor and report CO2 emissions from new HDVs subject to the certification procedure, in order to close the knowledge gap and create full market transparency. Through this third step, all relevant data calculated by manufacturers in line with the certification methodology would be monitored, reported and published at EU level. In this way the data would be made available to all stakeholders.
This would give transport operators access to information on the performance of lorries of different makes with similar characteristics, allowing them to make better informed purchasing decisions.
Vehicle manufacturers would be able to compare their vehicles’ performances with those of other makes, providing increased incentives for innovation.
Public authorities would have access to comprehensive data for designing and implementing policies to promote more fuel-efficient lorries, for instance through taxation and road user charging. This would otherwise not be possible as Member States would only have access to VECTO data from vehicles registered in their territory. Finally, it would enable analysis of the data, e.g. assess the penetration level of certain technologies.
This is also a necessary step for implementing and enforcing future CO2 emission standards for HDVs. A monitoring and reporting system is particularly necessary for assessing the compliance of such future standards, as is the case for cars and vans.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
This proposal implements the 2014 Communication on a Strategy for reducing Heavy-Duty Vehicles’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The HDV Strategy announced an implementing measure setting out the procedure for the certification of CO2 emissions from new HDVs placed on the EU market, calculated by the VECTO simulation tool, and a legislative proposal on monitoring and reporting these emissions.
This proposal also implements the 2016 European Strategy for low-emission mobility, whose goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions in road transport by at least 60 % in 2050 compared to 1990 levels and drastically reducing the emission of air pollutants. The Strategy also states that the Commission will speed up the analytical work on design options for CO2 emission standards with a view to preparing a legislative proposal during this Commission’s mandate.
Finally, this proposal will also facilitate the development of a methodology for differentiating infrastructure use charges for new HDVs in line with CO2 emissions, supporting the implementation of the review of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive.
• Consistency with other Union policies
This proposal is consistent with the EU commitment under the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework to reduce domestic emissions by at least 40 % by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. As part of the implementation of this commitment, in July 2016 the Commission proposed the Regulation on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States for the period 2021 to 2030 (the Effort Sharing Regulation) for the sectors not included in the Emission Trading Scheme (i.e. transport, buildings, agriculture and waste).
This proposal is also consistent with the 2016 Commission proposal to revise the Energy Efficiency Directive, setting a binding headline target at EU level of 30 % for improving energy efficiency by 2030 compared to business as usual.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
Articles 191 to 193 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union lay down and specify EU competencies in the area of climate change. The legal basis for this proposal is Article 192 TFEU.
• Subsidiarity
EU action is justified in view of the cross-border impact of climate change and the need to safeguard single markets in fuel, vehicle and transport services.
Moreover, new HDVs registered in a given Member State are often produced by a manufacturer in another Member State. Monitoring at national level instead of EU level would thus require extensive cooperation among Member States; homogeneous monitoring data would not be guaranteed due to differences in their legislation and policy practices. Comparability and completeness of data would be difficult to achieve, resulting in EU market fragmentation and loss of market transparency.
The lack of a common database containing all Member States’ monitoring data would, in particular, hamper use of the data by purchasers of vehicles and by policy makers at EU level.
A common monitoring scheme at EU level appears to be the most straightforward and simple approach. This same approach is already followed for cars and vans through EU-level action.
• Proportionality
Given that the proposal is both necessary and has potential economic benefits, it meets proportionality requirements — on an EU-wide scale, the efforts needed are minimal and costs almost negligible compared with the potential benefits of market transparency and the availability of data on HDV CO2 emissions and fuel consumption for all stakeholders.
• Choice of the instrument
In order to achieve uniform application of the proposed rules throughout the EU and obtain a homogeneous and comparable dataset that creates a level playing field for manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles and users of such vehicles, it is appropriate to use a Regulation which is directly applicable and binding on the Member States.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
No evaluation has been carried out as the issue was previously unregulated.
• Stakeholder consultations
The Commission organised a stakeholder meeting to receive feedback on the inception impact assessment and present the administrative cost assessment carried out by the external consultant. Constructive feedback was received from stakeholders and the cost assessment was not challenged.
The Commission also organised a public online consultation on preparing legislation on monitoring and reporting HDV fuel consumption and CO2 emissions 8 . 121 replies were received from a broad spectrum of stakeholders, providing their opinions on the need for action, the objectives, the options and anticipated impact.
Stakeholders’ views were integrated into the impact assessment; the selected option is also the option preferred by most respondents. A synopsis of the stakeholder consultation is provided in Annex 2 of the impact assessment for this proposal.
• Collection and use of expertise
The cost assessment of the different monitoring and reporting options was carried out by an external contractor (see Annex 10 of the impact assessment). The study is largely based on interviews with national registration authorities and HDV manufacturers, to collect their opinions on various monitoring options and receive targeted input with regard to the costs to their organisations, taking into account the current procedures and required adaptations.
Moreover, the impact assessment relies on the previous impact assessment that accompanied the 2014 Strategy for reducing Heavy-Duty Vehicles’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, in relation to the assessment of the other impacts.
• Impact assessment
The impact assessment 9 accompanying this proposal has been prepared and developed in line with the applicable Better Regulation guidance, and the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has issued a positive opinion. Improvements as recommended by the Board have been incorporated in the final version. It complements the analysis conducted in the 2014 impact assessment supporting the HDV Strategy.
The impact assessment considered options related to the monitoring and reporting of CO2 emissions from all new HDVs placed on the EU market subject to the certification process under the type approval framework. The data to be monitored and reported on consist of around 80 parameters relevant for determining the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of each vehicle.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the most appropriate body at European level to act on the Commission’s behalf to collate data, build a new database, and analyse and perform quality checks on the reported monitoring data on HDVs. The EEA already carries out these tasks for the reported monitoring data on light-duty vehicles (see Annex 8 of the impact assessment).
The impact assessment considered three legislative options on how such monitoring data should be reported to the Commission via the EEA: 1) reporting by national authorities; 2) reporting by HDV manufacturers; and 3) mixed reporting by national authorities and manufacturers.
Under option 1, national authorities report the monitoring data along with the relevant registration data of the vehicles concerned to the Commission via the EEA. Under this option, full digitisation of monitoring and reporting may not be easily achieved, as the majority of national registration authorities still use paper files to register HDVs. As a result, adaptation to fully digitised flows of monitoring data may be challenging and costly.
Option 2 would put HDV manufacturers in charge of reporting the monitoring data on each new vehicle to the Commission via the EEA. In such a case the monitoring data would be based on sales data in the possession of vehicle manufacturers, and no registration data would be reported. As a result, the reported emissions data could not be allocated to a particular Member State. This would make it more difficult for Member States to design effective national policies to increase the uptake of more efficient HDVs.
Option 3 is an intermediate option. Designated national authorities — most of which are expected to be the national registration authorities — would annually report to the Commission via the EEA registration data of new registered vehicles, in particular vehicle identification numbers, VINs. Vehicle manufacturers would submit the monitoring data corresponding to those vehicles to the Commission via the EEA. On the basis of the VIN numbers, the two datasets would be combined by the EEA in order to obtain monitoring data at a Member State level. Under this option, full digitisation of the flow of data is ensured, since manufacturers are in charge of reporting the monitoring data, which they already own in a digital format for certification purposes.
Option 3 is the preferred option. It is the most effective, particularly as it ensures the digital flow of information and provides data coverage at both national and EU levels, and its administrative cost is modest.
The selected option is likely to generate competition to produce more energy-efficient vehicles and incentives to innovation. The effects of more energy-efficient freight are expected to spread, at least partially, to most sectors of the EU economy: lower fuel operating costs of transport would trigger lower transport prices, thereby reducing other sectors’ costs and eventually benefitting EU consumers.
Competitiveness and the international impact are expected to be positive in the medium/long-term, for HDV manufacturers too, given the international context where other main markets (such as the US, Canada, Japan and China) already have regulations in place requiring improvements in the fuel efficiency of HDVs.
Employment is expected to benefit in the medium/long term. Incremental efficiency improvement of the vehicles purchased should result in CO2 emission savings. Favourable but only negligible reductions are expected in other emissions. The only economic costs are administrative costs. They are expected to be negligible — an estimated EUR 1 per vehicle.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
There are no direct reporting obligations for SMEs or micro-enterprises. Transport operators, most of which are SMEs, are expected to benefit from increased market transparency. This will enable them to make better informed purchasing decisions in favour of the most fuel- efficient vehicles which, through fuel cost savings, can reduce their operational costs and increase their competitiveness.
The proposed Regulation will make use of e-reporting, which is expected to limit the administrative burden for HDV manufactures, national authorities and the Commission/EEA.
• Fundamental rights
The proposal has no consequences for the protection of fundamental rights.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The budgetary impact resulting from the implementation of the proposed Regulation is very limited (see details in the attached Legislative Financial Statement). While staying within the overall MFF 2014-2020 ceiling for Heading 2, it would require a small reprogramming for the EEA for the years 2019 and 2020.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
On the basis of the information provided by the Member States and HDV manufacturers, the Commission shall produce a report annually. This Commission’s reporting will ensure close monitoring of the Regulation’s implementation.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Article 1 – Subject matter
This Article explains the key measures provided for by the Regulation, namely to monitor and report on the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of HDVs, i.e. lorries, buses and coaches.
Article 2 – Scope
This Article defines the scope of the Regulation and specifies the categories of vehicles for which registration data, technical data and, where available, the CO2 emission and fuel consumption data should be monitored and reported.
Article 3 – Definitions
The Regulation is closely linked to and uses the same terminology as that used in the type approval legislation. In order to ensure consistency across the different legal instruments, it is therefore made clear that the terminology used in this Regulation is to be understood in the same way as that defined in the type approval legislation.
Article 4 – Monitoring and reporting by Member States
This Article sets out the essential obligations imposed on Member States with regard to the monitoring and reporting timetable, the designation of the competent authorities and the data to be monitored. These include new heavy-duty vehicles and new trailers registered for the first time in the Union, or registered outside the Union but less than three months before registration in the Union.
In the case of the competent authorities, it is made clear that those authorities that are already responsible for the monitoring and reporting of data on light-duty vehicles should be the authorities responsible for monitoring also in the case of heavy-duty vehicles.
Annexes I and II complement this provision by specifying the data parameters to be monitored as well as the administrative steps of the monitoring and reporting procedure.
Article 5 – Monitoring and reporting by manufacturers
This Article sets out the essential obligations imposed on manufacturers with regard to the monitoring and reporting timetable, the designation of contact points and the data to be monitored.
Annexes I and II complement this provision by specifying the data parameters to be monitored as well as the administrative steps of the monitoring and reporting procedure.
Article 6 – Central Register for data on heavy-duty vehicles
The data reported to the Commission shall be maintained in a publicly available register. The register will be maintained by the EEA on behalf of the Commission, building on the experience gained by the EEA in maintaining the data register for light-duty vehicles.
While the majority of data records should be publicly available, certain data may not be disclosed due to the need to protect private data (vehicle identification numbers), and competition reasons (names of component manufacturers).
Article 7 – Data quality
High-quality data are essential for achieving the objectives of this Regulation. It is therefore important to make clear that the entities reporting data are responsible for the quality and correctness of the data delivered. Moreover, the Commission shall have the possibility to perform its own verification of the data quality as well as correcting data, if there are errors in the data submitted.
Article 8 – Report
The data reported to the Commission via the EEA should result in an annual analysis of CO2 emission trends and developments in the heavy-duty vehicle fleet in the EU, as well as those of individual manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles. This annual analysis shall be carried out by the Commission with the support of the EEA and will serve as an important input to the wider annual progress report mandated under the proposed Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union, in the context of the State of the Energy Union. The analysis will also provide important input into any further possible policy measures. The analysis will provide increased transparency with regard to the technology configurations and the performance of both the EU fleet and individual vehicles in terms of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.
Article 9 and 10 – Implementing measures and delegation of powers
These articles provide respectively the legal bases for the Commission to adopt implementing measures and, by way of delegated acts, amend non-essential elements of Annexes I and II. The implementing measures will complement Article 7 by allowing the Commission to define the detailed provisions and procedures needed for verifying and correcting the reported data. The delegated powers conferred on the Commission include adjusting and up-dating the data parameters to be monitored as well as the different steps in the monitoring procedure set out in Annexes I and II.
Article 11 and 12 – Committee procedure and exercise of delegation
These Articles set out the standard provisions relating to the Committee procedure to be used for adopting implementing acts and for exercising the delegated powers referred to in Article 9(2) and (3).