EU Parliament adopts position on new CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles

21 November 2023

The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on new rules to reduce CO₂ emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses. The position was adopted with 445 votes in favor, 152 against, and 30 abstentions. The Parliament will now start negotiations with the EU Council on the final shape of the legislation.

The emission reduction targets adopted by the Parliament are aligned with the Commission proposal—45% emission reduction for the period 2030-2034, 65% for 2035-2039, and 90% as of 2040.

The Parliament also agreed with the Commission’s proposal to allow the registration of only zero-emission new urban buses from 2030. Cities that have invested in alternative low-carbon fuels for buses, such as biomethane, would receive an exemption until 2035.

The MEPs voted to reject the carbon correction factor (CCF)—a mechanism that would account for the use of renewable fuels and reduce the CO₂ emission targets for truck manufacturers by the amount of renewable fuels already included in the fuel mix in a given year. Opponents of the CCF argued that the mechanism would incentivize the use of scarce renewable fuels in the road transport, pulling supply from hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation and shipping.

While rejecting the CCF, the Parliament has supported a Commission’s proposal to define a new class of exempted heavy-duty vehicles that would run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels, including both e-fuels and biofuels. Through the inclusion of biofuels, this would be a wider exemption than that adopted for light-duty vehicles, where only e-fuels are considered carbon-neutral.

Source: EU Parliament