IRU welcomes the opinions adopted today by the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on CO₂ emission standards for cars and light commercial vehicles, supporting more realistic targets for vans and a role for sustainable fuels in the transition.
The committees support reducing van emissions by 35% by 2030 and 80% by 2035, compared with the European Commission’s proposed 40% and 90% reductions and the current targets of 50% and 100%, respectively.
They also support assessing compliance over a five-year average rather than the current three-year period, and creating a separate vehicle category for vehicles running exclusively on sustainable fuels.
“For vans, realistic targets must go hand in hand with progress on enabling conditions: a viable business case, effective deployment of alternative fuels and charging infrastructure, and sufficient grid capacity,” said IRU EU Director Raluca Marian. “The committees recognised this need today.”
“IRU has also called for sustainable fuels to be recognised as part of the transition toolbox from the outset, and these opinions take an important step in that direction,” she added.
More realistic targets for light commercial vehicles
The proposed targets would give manufacturers greater flexibility to align emission reductions with the pace at which enabling conditions develop. While the standards apply to manufacturers, they directly influence the availability and affordability of vans for commercial operators.
Assessing compliance over a five-year average would also provide greater flexibility to account for market developments and the uneven deployment of charging infrastructure and alternative fuels. Together, these changes would give operators more time and options to transition to lower-emission fleets.
A role for sustainable fuels
The opinions support a separate vehicle category for vehicles running exclusively on sustainable fuels, as defined under the EU Renewable Energy Directive. This would recognise an additional pathway to reducing emissions and broaden the options available to operators.
The European Commission proposed recognising sustainable fuels only from 2035 and through a compensation mechanism. IRU considers this approach too restrictive and has called for their earlier recognition, in line with the principle of technology neutrality.
What happens next?
The opinions contribute to the legislative process but do not yet change the rules. They feed into the work of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment and Climate, which is expected to vote on the text in early November. A plenary vote is expected in December, following an agreement on the Industry Accelerator Act.
“The committees have opened a practical route for other decarbonisation pathways,” concluded Raluca Marian. “The next step is to extend this approach to trucks and coaches in the 2027 review of heavy-duty CO₂ standards, and to ensure these vehicles benefit from reduced road tolls that reflect their CO₂ savings.”