Car CO2 emissions fall sharply in response to EU targets

Official new data from the EU’s environmental watchdog (EEA) shows that the CO₂ emissions of new cars decreased by 12% in 2020 to 107.8 gCO₂/km, suggesting that ambitious EU car CO₂ targets have spurred vehicle manufacturers to reduce their climate impact. However, environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E) warns that tighter standards will be needed from 2025 onwards so that all new cars sold from 2035 are zero emissions. 

Lucien Mathieu, Road Vehicles and Emobility Analysis Manager at T&E, says: ‘New car emissions were increasing as recently as two years ago, but the sharp drop last year shows that carmakers respond to CO₂ standards. Some carmakers have already said when they will go fully electric, but stricter CO₂ standards leading to zero emissions are needed to ensure the whole industry phases-out fossil-fuel engines by 2035.’

The EU is expected to propose new car and van CO₂ targets on 14 July 2021. T&E has recommended that the EU increases the 2025 target and sets an additional binding target for 2027. All petrol and diesel cars engines should be phased out by 2035 at the latest, says the group.

However, the average emissions of new vans fell just 1.5% to 157.7 gCO₂/km last year while the market share of electric vans edged up 2.3% in 2020. T&E claims that van CO₂ standards are so weak, most vanmakers are able to meet them without selling a single zero emissions vehicle. It says the upcoming review of van emission standards gives the EU ‘a unique opportunity to strengthen the targets and finally drive the uptake of electric vans’.