9 NOVEMBER 2017, BRUSSELS: The European Fuel Oxygenates Association (EFOA) welcomes the proposal for revised CO2 standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles published by the European Commission, as it marks an important step towards greener mobility in Europe. The Commission’s Impact Assessment recognises that around 95% of vehicles on Europe's roads still have an internal combustion engine (ICEs), which means that upgrading ICEs and improving the quality of fuels will offer significant benefits.

Firstly, EFOA believes that high quality, high octane fuels combined with high performance engines can play a key role in reducing emissions from passenger cars. For instance, a realistic 7% lower fuel consumption through higher octane would save 20 million tonnes of CO2 per year. EFOA calls upon the European institutions involved in the co-decision process to fully recognise this potential.

This could not only benefit the petrol fleet but also would contribute to the transition towards zero carbon mobility. “Currently, 96.8% of the yearly fleet mileage of electric vehicles is covered by hybrid cars. High octane petrol helps increasing the fuel efficiency and emission reduction potential of hybrid cars, making them a more attractive option. I strongly believe that the Commission’s proposal could be improved to bring about rapid and cost effective emissions reductions in Europe” commented EFOA Secretary General Ewa Abramiuk Lété.

Finally, current transport policy needs a variety of measures and decarbonisation solutions. Giving an equal opportunity to different technologies should be an important part of the future approach, in order to deliver a policy which brings real change to CO2 and air pollution levels. As such, the focus on measuring the tailpipe emissions should be changed in order to fully capture the CO2 emission reduction of vehicles. While EFOA supports legislation which encourages a progress towards low emission transport, we believe that focus on incentives to specific technologies would make emission reduction process much costlier than necessary. It will also miss out on opportunities for more rapid and cost-effective solutions available today.

Read EFOA position paper on CO2 standards for light duty vehicles here.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Ewa Abramiuk Lété +32 2 67 67 278

ABOUT FUEL ETHERS

Fuel ethers, including bio-MTBE, bio-ETBE, bio-TAME and bio-TAEE, are key components for the production of high octane fuels. They increase petrol’s performance, while reducing the emissions of air pollutants such as and CO2 across the life cycle.

ABOUT EFOA

Created in 1985, the European Fuel Oxygenates Association (EFOA), a sector group of Cefic, represents the voice of European producers of blending components of petrol called fuel ethers. EFOA is recognised by the European institutions as a valuable stakeholder on fuel quality and automotive emission reduction issues. It actively promotes constructive co-operation with all stakeholders including regulators, industry, NGOs etc.

For more information visit our website www.efoa.eu.