EU agreement eases GHG emissions limits on vans
20 December 2010
The European Union reached a deal which sets emissions limits for the entire van fleet to be reached by 2017 and 2020. Under the agreement, the average new van sold in the EU in 2017 will be required to emit 175g CO2/km or less, and 147g CO2/km in 2020.
The agreements are looser and will take place later than was originally proposed by the European Commission, which drafted the proposal as part of the EU’s efforts to cut rising emissions from transport.
The 2017 target date is a year later than the Commission had proposed. The 2020 target was scaled back to 147g/km CO2 instead of the 135g initially proposed.
Kerstin Meyer of Brussels-based NGO Transport and Environment said that the EU should have rejected car-makers’ claims that more demanding targets were impossible.
What is a van ?
How large does it have to be before it is something else?
When does the kitten become a cat ?
I think it was easy for the car makers to reduce the Co2 for cars because cars are so overpowered and the improvements were fairly clear and easy (at least in hindsight).
Vans, however, are less overpowered, and are already designed for economy, for hard nosed clients; so improving them may be harder (than it was for cars).
Nonetheless, I expect they will hit the limits earlier than expected as there will be so many ideas to trickle down from cars.
Posted by: mahonj | 20 December 2010 at 03:14 PM
The EU capitulates to the vehicle manufacturers yet again. So weak!
Posted by: Scatter | 21 December 2010 at 02:06 AM
Vans come in two sizes. There are those which are allowed to carry up to 3.5 Tons metric in weight and those that can carry up to around 7.5 Tons.
I remember driving a Mercedes Sprinter back in 1997, with a 3 litre turbo diesel engine. Boy that thing used to shift and would easily plod along at 80-90 mph all day. Small wonder these things spend most of their lives on the outside lane of the Motorway, and still do!
Posted by: Scott | 21 December 2010 at 04:33 AM
Van size and weight have to be considered. Mini vans could be included with cars. Larger vans (2+ tonnes curb weight) could be in the truck category.
Posted by: HarveyD | 21 December 2010 at 12:22 PM
These are light commercial vehicles, up to 3.5t. Big cars.
Posted by: Scatter | 21 December 2010 at 01:14 PM
Good to see EU getting reel and forgetting CO2 as a measure for anything but grant applications. What is needed is to raise the MPG ratings across the board.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 22 December 2010 at 05:17 PM