Page 7 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2017 publication

Autumn 2017 European Energy Innovation
printed parts and logistics, electric
power trains, interconnected mobility
services... to move forward. On the
other hand, demand must be ramped
up via green public procurement –
purchasing of electric vehicles by
public authorities for own use or for
public car sharing programs – and via
Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) quotas for Politics is catching up. More and more
car manufacturers. These measures
must create the needed scale to
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E-MOBILITY
decrease the costs, rendering electric
cars affordable for consumers. An
increasing share of e-cars (imposed via
ZEV quotas) obliges car manufactures
to develop them for lower income
groups and not only for the premium
segment.
countries are announcing measures
to phase out the internal combustion
engine. Next to Norway, also France
and the UK wants to get rid of the dirty in line with the technology they want.
tailpipes. The European Parliament
voted with an overwhelming majority
the recommendations on clean cars
policies made by the EMIS inquiry
committee that I was privileged to
chair. These voted recommendations1
call for the introduction of Zero
Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates in the
upcoming proposal on CO2 standards
for cars and vans “with the aim of
phasing out new CO2-emitting cars by
2035”. The Commission is following
cautiously. In its Communication on
the Mobility Package – “Europe on
the Move” – it expresses its intention
to consider the inclusion of specific
targets for low and/or zero-emission
vehicles in its upcoming proposal on
the post 2020 CO2 standards. CO2-
standards for heavy duty vehicles such
as lorries, buses and coaches are also
“under consideration”. Also here, the
EU risks lagging behind since fuel
economy standards for heavy duty
vehicles were already introduced
in other parts of the world, such as
in the US, Japan and China. In the
decarbonisation of the heavy duty
transport, electrification will only be
part of the solution. For long distance
transport, other technologies such as
1) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P8-TA-2017-
0100+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN
2) http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/China-LDV-Stage-6_Policy-Update_
ICCT_20032017_vF_corrected.pdf
7
fuel cells and alternative fuels will have
to play a role.
The EU must learn to see legislation
as the standard bearer of new
technology. ZEV mandates were first
introduced in the Clean Air Act in
California, before ZEV technologies
even existed. European manufactures
must learn to bring their technology
in line with the legislation we want
instead of trying to get our legislation
Without EU policies that force the
European car industry to move ahead,
our industry will face a “clean-tech
leakage”. This might even be the case
for these manufacturers that keep on
swearing by the diesel technologies. The
emission limit standards for NOx in the
US are already more stringent than the
Euro 6 standards applicable in the EU.
And a new policy briefing of the ICCT2
shows that from July 2023 onwards, the
Chinese emission standard for NOx will
lay significantly below the Euro 6 level.
From that date on Chinese cars will be
saleable in the EU, but European cars
could not be sold in China.
A progressive legislative approach
tackling both CO2 emissions and the
emissions of air pollutants in our car
fleet is imperative to preserve the
competitiveness of our industry and
to protect the environment and public
health. As former Commissioner
Potocznik said in an EMIS hearing: “We
end up killing industry with kindness
by giving in to the calls for less
ambition, longer time to achieve it, and
allowing loopholes.” Let’s hope this
lesson from Dieselgate is learned. l