Car emissions are rising for the third year in a row. Electromobility does not work

Interim data for the 27 countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Iceland and Norway show that average emissions last year were 122.4 g / km CO₂, which represents an increase of 1.6 g / km compared to 2018 and 3.6 g / km compared to 2017. At the same time, from 2010 to 2016, emissions even without electric cars gradually decreased, by a total of 22 grams. Although the current figure is below the target of 130 grams, which was valid until 2019, it is significantly above the target set by the EU from this year – 95 grams.

The reasons for the growth are well-known and repeated several times – on the one hand the growing popularity of SUVs, which are larger and heavier and therefore have higher consumption, and on the other hand a negative campaign against diesel engines, which are on average more economical than equally powerful petrol counterparts and emit less CO₂.

Diesel accounted for 31% of new registrations in 2019, a decrease of four percentage points compared to 2018 and 23 percent compared to 2011, when diesel cars peaked at a 55% share of new registrations. In a way, the growing weight of vehicles also contributes to the growth of emissions. According to the EEA, it increased by an average of 30 kilograms last year compared to 2018. An increase was observed in all vehicle segments (small, medium, large regular cars and SUVs), petrol and diesel engines.

Emissions are also rising in deliveries, although less so than in passenger cars. EEA figures in this segment refer to average emissions of 158.4 g CO₂/ km, which is about half a gram of CO₂/ km more than in 2018. This keeps well below the target of 175 g CO₂/ km, which was valid until 2019, however, is about eleven grams of CO₂/ km higher than the target set by the EU from this year – 147 g CO₂/ km. Rising emissions from light commercial vehicles The EEA attributes an increase in average weight and only a limited increase in the share of electricity supplies from 0.8% in 2018 to 1.3% in 2019.

A bit of a paradox is that from this year, carmakers will pay fines for exceeding the average limit of 95 g CO₂/ km. Due to the coronary crisis, many of them have also used or will use various forms of state aid. On the one hand, car manufacturers will take subsidies, on the other hand, they will pay money on fines.

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