Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-13-Speech-2-225"
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"en.20070313.22.2-225"2
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".
Madam President, I am delighted to have an opportunity to reply to this very important question.
The question by the honourable Member is whether the Commission has a full picture of emissions of greenhouse gases from road transport and what measures it proposes to reduce the effect on the environment of these emissions. The Commission services, in cooperation with the European Environmental Bureau, records and monitors annual emissions from all domestic means of transport in the European Union.
I shall comment first on emissions of carbon dioxide, to which the honourable Member's question refers. In 2003, emissions of carbon dioxide from the transport sector in the European Union of the 25 totalled 951 million tonnes, accounting for approximately 21% of all emissions of greenhouse gases in the European Union. Road transport generated emissions of 892 million tonnes of carbon dioxide; in other words, road transport accounts for the biggest share of emissions of greenhouse gases within the European Union. From these statistics, which refer to all forms of transport within the European Union, we need to distinguish international aviation. Aviation can be divided into domestic flights and international flights. As far as international flights are concerned, the production of carbon dioxide is 112 million tonnes more than the amounts I referred to earlier. I should also point out that emissions by aeroplanes have spiralled in comparison with emissions by other means of transport. Finally, the effect on the climate from aeroplanes is greater than the statistics show, because at high altitudes emissions from aeroplanes affect the ozone, which is a greenhouse gas, and affect cloud formation. That is why, if we want to limit the effects on the climate from transport, we need to take action which covers all means of transport.
As regards road transport, the Commission has already notified its intention to propose a legislative framework to limit emissions of carbon dioxide from cars and vans in its communication on carbon dioxide and cars. Average emissions from new automobiles marketed within the European Union must be limited to 120 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre by 2012. Improvements to engine and automobile technology will bring about a reduction in emissions to 130 grammes per kilometre, while supplementary measures will bring about a further reduction of 10 grammes per kilometre.
In addition to this, the Commission has tabled a proposal to revise the directive on the fuel quality. The proposal for a directive makes provision for an obligation for fuel manufacturers to limit emissions of greenhouse gases from fuels over their life cycle. This endeavour will bring about a 10% reduction in emissions from road transport by 2020. To get an idea, over a period of 10 years, the reduction in emissions will be equivalent to current annual emissions by Spain and Sweden.
So far I have commented on emissions of carbon dioxide from road transport. As far as aviation is concerned, the Commission has tabled a proposal for them to be included in the European Union's emissions trading system. Our proposal has been brought before Parliament. Apart from carbon dioxide, transport produces other emissions which affect the environment and human health, such as suspended particles and emissions which help to create ozone, such as nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds. Within the framework of the CAFE programme, we estimate that, if no further measures are taken up to 2020, transport as a whole will account for 51% of nitrogen dioxide in terrestrial emissions and 20% of PM 2.5 suspended particles. That is why the Commission is proposing restrictions on emission limits for automobiles and an agreement was reached last December on the EURO 5 and EURO 6 standards. The Commission also intends to table a proposal to introduce new EURO 6 standards for heavy goods vehicles during this year."@en1
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