From Laboratory to Road. A 2015 update of official and real-world fuel concumption and CO2 values for passenger cars in Europe

Abstract

Official average carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions of new passenger cars in the European Union declined from 170 grams per kilometer (g/km) in 2001 to 123 g/km in 2014. During the period 2001–2014, the rate of reduction in CO 2 emissions per kilometer increased from approximately one percent per year to approximately four percent per year. A direct cause of that improvement was the introduction of mandatory CO 2 fleet targets, in place of voluntary commitments, in 2009. Despite concerns expressed then about the feasibility of the mandate, Europe’s automakers met the 2015 target of 130 g/km two years ahead of schedule. Today, in 2015, manufacturers are on track to meet the 2020/21 target of 95 g/km. However, that simple summary of vital progress in transportation and climate policy, while accurate, leaves out some crucial details. As our series From Laboratory to Road has made clear over the past three years, in reality, CO 2 emissions from passenger cars in everyday operation have not declined as much as these official statistics would seem to indicate, which has become a subject of rising concern. This study, which updates the From Laboratory to Road series for 2015, demonstrates that the trend has not improved — on the contrary, the gap between real-world and official values continues to increase