With 2019 in the books, Europe has logged three consecutive years of rising CO2 emissions, according to the EU’s environment agency, the EEA.
This goes to show just how behind carmakers are when it comes to complying with upcoming CO2 targets, needing to now significantly reduce their emissions or risk missing tougher EU targets that are coming into effect this year, reports Reuters.
The average emissions for new cars registered in the European Union’s 27 members states (plus Britain, Iceland and Norway) last year were 122.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer – an increase of 1.6 grams compared to 2018, as per the EEA.
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While this was below the EU’s target of 130g/km of CO2 for 2018, it was still off the mark compared to tougher targets that are set to go into effect this year.
“Manufacturers will have to improve the fuel efficiency of their fleet and accelerate the deployment of zero- and low-emission vehicles,” said the agency.
In order to meet new CO2 targets and avoid paying large fines, carmakers will need to slash their emissions by no less than 22% compared to 2019 levels, as 2020 targets for average CO2 numbers have been set at 95g CO2/km.
One of the reasons why emissions have been steadily climbing is the fact that SUVs continue to occupy a large share of the market, accounting for 38% of Europe’s new car sales in 2019. Meanwhile, electric and hybrid models made up just 3.5% of new car sales last year, with Norway alone accounting for 56% of registrations.
