Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur, holds a press conference on CO2 emission performance targets for new heavy-duty vehicles. The Parliament's proposal put forward the targets should be set at 45% for the period 2030-2034, 70% for 2035-2039 (compared to 65% proposed by the Commission) and 90% as of 2040. They also agree that newly registered urban buses should be zero-emission vehicles from 2030. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

plenary session

EICKHOUT, Bas (Greens/EFA, NL)

emissions of vehicles (T)

effort sharing regulation (T)

press conference

European Green Deal (T)

Fit for 55 (T)

Press conference by Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur on CO2 emission performance targets for new heavy-duty vehicles

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for being there. And indeed, we just voted. So we are, of course, also like everyone, I guess, putting together the exact voting results. But I think it's quite clear and it's a good outcome. It's a good outcome what we what do we have achieved. First of all, what is very important to realise is of course if we are looking at the impact of heavy duty vehicles, they are contributing at this moment 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions compared to off the part of the road transport.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. So one quarter of road transport emissions is coming from heavy duty vehicles. So it's also very clear that we need to take action there. What the Parliament now has adopted is an increased set of CO2 reduction targets that are now in line with also the commission proposal. So that I think it's very important to realise that the targets are now really at the level of what also the Commission has been proposing leading towards 90% by 2040.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. There was of course a very long discussion on what to do with carbon neutral fuels. So what has happened is a definition of carbon neutral fuels has been adopted. To be very honest, quite a lot is now falling on the carbon neutral fuels. However, any attempts that that would be correlated with a carbon correction factor that has been defeated. So basically we have a definition now, but we do not have any carbon correction factor, which means that we are still having the targets in place without any of these carbon neutral fuels.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. Only one amendment has been adopted and that is for the methodology for the accreditation. However, this is, to be very honest, a bit inconsistent if you look, because you have now a broad definition of what carbon neutral fuels are, including e-fuels, including bio gas, including biofuels. And then there is now a question for the Commission to develop a accreditation methodology.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. But of course, for biofuels that's already in place. So you are asking the commission to do something partly what is already in place. So how that will be dealt with in the interinstitutional negotiations, we will see, of course. A final comment and then I'll open up to questions on the buses, city buses, it is very clear that there is a 100% reduction target maintained for 2030.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. However, as already was the case, in the ENVI votes for those local communities that have been investing in other alternatives, like, for example, biomethane, that's what we're talking about mainly, they get an extension until 2035 in order to make sure that the investments they have been making until now also will still render until 2035. For all the others, it will be a 100% reduction target by 2030, which de facto means a target for electric buses for all our cities by 2030. That as an introduction.

Q&A. Question about the list of exceptions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. -

Q&A. Question on the situation of the countries which invested in biofuels for buses.

Q&A. Question on the impacts of the e-fuels amendment on the negotiations with the Council.

SOUNDBITE (English), Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA,NL), Rapporteur. Thank you very much. And yes, we will need to look for the negotiations. Thank you very much.