Indicator Specification
CO2 performance of new passenger cars in Europe
Rationale
Justification for indicator selection
The Transport White Paper sets an objective of reducing transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60 % by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.
By 2030, the goal for transport will be to reduce GHG emissions to around 20 % below their 2008 level (or 8 % above the 1990 level). GHG emissions from passenger cars and vans (light commercial vehicles) represent almost three-quarters of all GHG emissions in road transport (see EEA GHG data viewer). Given their dominance, it is of the utmost importance to reach a balance between societal and economic demands, and environmental targets.
This indicator has been selected to monitor the fuel efficiency improvements of newly registered cars. It enables the assessment of progress towards the targets set by Regulation (EU) No 2019/631.
Scientific references
- No rationale references available
Indicator definition
Average specific emissions of CO2 are calculated as a weighted average of new registrations of cars in a particular year.
Units
Emissions are expressed in grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g CO2/km).
Policy context and targets
Context description
Transport consumes one third of all final energy in the EU. The bulk of this energy comes from oil. This means that transport is responsible for a large share of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and a major contributor to climate change. While most other economic sectors, such as power production and industry, have reduced their emissions since 1990, those from transport have risen. They now account for more than one quarter of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions. A reversal of this trend is currently not in sight. That makes the transport sector a major obstacle to realising the EU’s climate protection goals. EU strategy documents focus on decarbonising transport. The European Commission’s 2018 strategy ‘A Clean Planet for all: A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy’ seeks to chart the course for a transition towards ‘net-zero’ greenhouse gas emissions across the EU by 2050. For transport, it underlines the need for a system-based approach, stresses the importance of switching to low-carbon modes and zero-emission vehicles, underlines the central role of electrification and renewable energy sources, and pushes for operational efficiency improvements. Similarly, from 2016, the ‘European Strategy for low-emission mobility’ has identified a more efficient transport system, the rapid deployment of low-emission fuels and the transition towards low- and zero-emission vehicles as priority areas for action (EEA, 2020).
Targets
The average fleet target for 2019 is 130 gCO2/km.
Specific target for manufacturers/pools are calculated according the formulae in the section 'methodology'.
Related policy documents
No related policy documents have been specified
Key policy question
CO2 performance of new passenger cars in Europe, aggregated assessment level
Specific policy question
CO2 performance of new passenger cars in Europe, disaggregated assessment level
Methodology
Methodology for indicator calculation
Average specific CO2 emissions are calculated as a weighted average of the fleet registered in a particular year. For calculating manufacturers’ average emissions, eco-innovations are also taken into account.
For each manufacturer annual specific emissions target is defined, calculated on the basis of the fleet-wide target and the average ‘mass in running order’ of the registered vehicles.
According to the Regulations 2019/631, the following formulae applied for calculating the specific emission targets for cars until 2019 (included):
Passenger cars: 130 + a × (M – M0)
where:
- M is the average mass of the manufacturer’s fleet in kilograms;
- M0 is the reference mass;
- a is 0.0457.
References
EEA, 2019, Trends and projections in Europe 2019 — tracking progress towards Europe’s climate and energy targets, EEA Report No 15/2019, European Environment Agency (https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/trends-and-projections-in-europe-2018-climate-and-energy) accessed 11 March 2019.
EU, 2009, Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 1-15).
EU, 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 443/2009 and (EU) No 510/2011 (OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 13-53).
Methodology for gap filling
No gap filling is foreseen.
Methodology references
No methodology references available.
Data specifications
EEA data references
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars – Regulation (EU) No 631/2019 provided by Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG-CLIMA)
Data sources in latest figures
Uncertainties
Methodology uncertainty
N/a
Data sets uncertainty
N/A
Rationale uncertainty
No uncertainty has been specified.
Further work
Short term work
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Long term work
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
General metadata
Responsibility and ownership
EEA Contact Info
Cinzia PastorelloOwnership
Identification
Frequency of updates
Classification
DPSIR: StateTypology: Performance indicator (Type B - Does it matter?)
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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/average-co2-emissions-from-motor-vehicles-1 or scan the QR code.
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