CLECAT, the European association representing the companies of the logistics, shipping and customs services, a reiterated its opposition to the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions over the entire life cycle of transport, and mainly generated by the activities of production, maintenance and disposal of vehicles, in the proposal of the CountEmissionsEU regulation presented in July 2023 by the European Commission ( of 13 July 2023). Today, in view of the start of negotiations trialogue between Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the proposal for a regulation, the association has reaffirmed that it believes that, although the desire to provide A comprehensive view of these emissions in the transport sector noteworthy, however, "the introduction in the final text of a life-cycle methodology would result in counterproductive for businesses and for the transport sector".

In particular, according to CLECAT, the introduction of the entire including emissions from production, maintenance and end-of-life of vehicles, would compromise the entire rule for various reasons, starting with the lack of a Established and universally accepted methodology for calculating the emissions associated with vehicle production, the extraction of raw materials or end-of-life processes. 'The development of such methodologies - observed the association - would require research and consultations with stakeholders, delaying implementation of CountEmissionsEU and preventing the adoption of greenhouse gas calculation practices by companies".

In addition, CLECAT considers that the inclusion of emissions of the entire life cycle would significantly expand the scope of application of the Regulation beyond only the services of transport. "This," the association noted, "risks to confuse emissions from transport services with footprint of a transport company, creating confusion between stakeholders. The great complexity of the assignment emissions from the production and scrapping of vehicles to specific transport operations - highlighted CLECAT - makes the results less transparent and more difficult to interpret, undermining the purpose of the legislation".

CLECAT also warns that "the calculation of the emissions of the requires detailed data on the processes of production of vehicles, the sources of raw materials and the information on life-course emissions that often do not are available or unverifiable. For example - he specified the association - assessing the impact of the full life cycle of a electric vehicle would require knowledge of the origin and processing of rare earth metals used in its Batteries. As such data is currently out of reach of most companies, it would create burdens along the supply chain".

Finally, for CLECAT, "rather than encouraging choices based on transport emissions, emissions from the risk reducing the focus on decarbonization. The goal of CountEmissionsEU - underlined association - should be to provide companies with clear and actionable information on their operational emissions, allowing them to make informed choices about how to transport and to direct decarbonisation strategies".

CLECAT then noted that "not including emissions of life cycle greenhouse gases under the EU CountEmissions not means that they will never be accounted for: with an appropriate methodology, such emissions could be considered in the annual sustainability reporting of a transport, for example as asset purchases, and considered as Scope 3 emissions. However, include them in the scope of CountEmissionsEU would not provide an accurate and clear view of the greenhouse gas emissions from transport'.

CLECAT concluded by warmly inviting the European politicians to preserve the integrity of the proposal CountEmissionsEU by rejecting amendments that aim to introduce a life-cycle methodology, ensuring that instead of The focus remains on operational emissions, "where - he highlighted association - standards already exist such as ISO 14083".

If CLECAT trusts that the CountEmissionsEU regulation will not take into account taking into account the entire life cycle of transport, paradoxically, a contrary hope was expressed instead by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the international company representing companies in the sector of road transport. Commenting on the joint vote of recent days of the Commission for the Environment, Public Health and Safety and the Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee European Union, with a view to negotiations with the Council, which has led to the the adoption of Parliament's proposal on the measurement of emissions from transport services, a proposal that provides for the request to the European Commission to submit within two years since the entry into force of the new regulation, a new methodology calculating greenhouse gas emissions from production, the use, maintenance and disposal of vehicles, or throughout the entire transport lifecycle, Raluca Marian, EU Director of the IRU, argued that "the sector needs robust tools to support effectively decarbonisation. CountEmissionsEU - ha underlined - represents a significant step forward as harmonises reporting arrangements and introduces coherence, while taking into account a fair approach expected by such as the "well-to-wheel" time".