CO2 emissions from new cars down by almost 12% since 1995

CO2 emissions from new passenger cars sold in the EU-15 decreased by 11.8% between 1995 and 2003, a 1.2% progress compared to 2002. The annual report on CO2 emissions from new cars, adopted by the European Commission today, shows that the car industry has made progress in fulfilling its obligations under the voluntary agreements to market cars that emit less CO2. However, the report also underlines that major additional efforts will be required in the coming years in order to deliver the target to which the industry has committed itself.

Progress in 2003
CO2 emissions in 2003 - 2003 reduction compared to 1995 levels -2003 reduction compared to 2002 levels - Interim targets

ACEA   163 g/km    - 11.9%     - 1.2%     165-170g CO2/km in 2003
JAMA   172 g/km    - 12.2%     - 1.1%     165-175g CO2/km in 2003
KAMA   179 g/km    -  9.1%     - 2.2%     165-170g CO2/km in 2004

Since the beginning of the Commitments, ACEA and JAMA show good progress in reducing CO2 emissions, although there has been less progress in 2003 than in the initial years of the commitments. KAMA's progress remains limited, although it has been catching up in the last three years, and substantial efforts are required to close the gap of 9 g/km to meet the 2004 intermediate range.

All three associations need to make major additional efforts to increase the average annual reduction rate and reach the 140g CO2/km target by 2008/9. In the remaining years, annual reduction rates must be on average 2.8% for ACEA, 3.1% for JAMA and 3.6% for KAMA.

Background:
Road transport generates more than one fifth of all CO2 emissions in the EU, with passenger cars being responsible for more than half of these emissions. CO2 emissions from road transport have risen by 22% since 1990, notably due to an increase in road transport, including private driving. The commitments of the European, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers' associations to reduce CO2 emissions to 140 g/km by 2008/2009 are the first pillar of the EU's Strategy to reduce CO2 Emissions from New Passenger Cars. The other two pillars are consumer information (fuel efficiency labelling), and fiscal incentives.

For further information:
- COM(2005) 269 - SEC(2005) 826: Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and annex

com2005_269_co2.pdf (212 KB)

com2005_269_annex.pdf (1180 KB)

Related News Items:
- 4th Annual Commission Report on CO2 Emissions published (12 February 2004)