by David Finlay (19 Dec 07)

European limits on CO2 emissions from cars and vans have come a step closer this week as the European Commission has drafted legislation which will be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament. "If and when" - the official term - they then pass the legislation, it will become directly applicable in all EC member states without any need, or indeed option, for individual governments to create their own sets of rules.

The proposal is that all manufacturers selling cars in EC countries (regardless of where in the world they build those cars) will have to meet a specific target. The target itself is quite vague, since the manufacturers themselves will have to ensure that their cars produce average CO2 emissions of 130g/km by 2012. However, the EC's own target is 120g/km, and it aims to achieve this by reducing the carbon content in petrol and diesel, promoting biofuels (to 5.75% of the market, according to another EU directive) and introducing new efficiency requirements for components with the highest impact on fuel consumption, such as tyres and air-conditioning systems.

This 10g/km disparity is going to be difficult to account for in practice. Cars are put through the official fuel economy cycle (which also produces the CO2 rating) with their air-conditioning systems switched off, so unless there's a further change in legislation there it won't be possible to measure how well a more efficient system works. Also, the economy test is conducted with the car's standard tyres fitted, and it's not clear whether this will be taken into account in terms of which target is meant to be achieved.

Still, let's leave that to one side. If we assume that the basic figure is actually 130g/km, there's another refinement in that the weight of the vehicle alters the target and allows an advantage for heavier cars. This has already been interpreted as allowing manufacturers to build larger and thirstier SUVs ("if today's proposal becomes law, it will boost the SUV arms race in Europe, rewarding carmakers for their climate-killing strategy of making ever heavier cars," says Jos Dings of the European Federation for Transport and Environment), but a quick look at the EU's formula on the subject shows that that isn't true.

Take, for example, the Toyota Aygo, which has a kerb weight of 890kg. By the EU formula, its CO2 target is just under 112g/km. No worries for Toyota there, since the Aygo's official CO2 figure is 109g/km. The same company's Land Cruiser has a kerb weight of 2180kg in its heaviest form, which equates to a much more lenient CO2 requirement of 171g/km. But that's still going to be tricky; there is no Land Cruiser which produces less than 238g/km in the official test.

In fact, Toyota does not have as big a problem as some in meeting the new legislation. According to the European Commission's figures, it has to improve its average by 25g/km between now and 2012 - the same as Honda, which of course is the other major company with hybrid cars in its line-up. The only manufacturers with less far to go are PSA Peugeot Citroen (16g/km), Renault (20g/km) and Fiat (22g/km), with General Motors (including Vauxhall, Saab and Chevrolet) and Ford on 28g/km and 30g/km respectively.

Further down the scale are BMW on 45g/km, Subaru (which manufacturers nothing but four-wheel drive cars, apart from the forthcoming Justy which is really a Daihatsu Sirion) on 81g/km and Porsche on a resounding 138g/km. Yes, Porsche is actually operating at double the proposed target.

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