The European Parliament, in its plenary session, has voted its official opinion and amendments to the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation of CO2emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. IVECO welcomes the European Parliament’s acknowledgement of natural gas, and especially its renewable part, as a viable carrier towards a wide target to decarbonize Europe, despite the harsh and inaccurate allegations against the role of natural gas in sustainable transport recently published.
Indeed, an amendment adopted on Wednesday 14th November in the Plenary by a large cross-party majority of the EU Parliament is asking the EU Commission to develop a methodology, no later than 2020, to include the effect of using renewable fuels in the computation of the fleet average emissions of manufacturers that offer CNG and LNG solutions to their customers.
Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, commented: “We are very pleased that this amendment has been adopted by the European Parliament for its recognition of the role that natural gas has to play in the decarbonization of the transport industry. At IVECO, we have long seen natural gas as the mature technology that is available to us today and can deliver dramatic emissions reductions, with 90% less NO2 and 99% less PM. With biomethane, it can cut well-to-wheel CO2 emissions by up to 95%. Gas is indeed enabling a seamless transition to full transport decarbonisation when biomethane is produced through organic waste anaerobic digestion, which is also returning compost and nutrients to the soil, actually fixing carbon as organic matter for a negative carbon footprint. As a result of our vision, today IVECO has a full offering of natural gas-powered trucks capable of covering all missions, all the way to heavy-duty long distance haulage, as we showed at this year’s IAA 2018, where we made history as the first manufacturer to have zero diesel vehicles on our stand.”
The view of natural gas as the mature solution for sustainable transport is shared by EU Institutions and Governments, which are supporting its development with a variety of actions. The amendment concerning natural gas adds to other measures already in place, such as the financial incentives for energy-efficient low CO2trucks and the exemption from motorway tolls for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) vehicles announced in Germany; the elimination of excise duty on LNG and the taxation of Diesel to fund the development of the LNG infrastructure in Poland; and the decrees issued in France and Italy to promote the use of bio-methane produced from cow manure and agricultural waste to fuel transport vehicles.
The final report still includes many critical points for the industry, among the others more stringent emission reduction objectives. The next step in the legislative process is the vote of the EU Council, and IVECO and the gas and biogas industry trust that Member States will take on board this provision in order to speed up the decarbonization process.
SOURCE: IVECO
