EU Policy Framework for eMobility

The EU strategy for encouraging the development and uptake of clean and energy efficient (“green”) vehicles builds on the existing 2007 strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light-duty commercial vehicles, and adopts an overall approach for decarbonising transport. Two paths need to be followed simultaneously:

• Promoting the energy efficiency of conventional vehicles (internal combustion engines) and work to further improve the quality of conventional petrol and diesel fuel;
  
  
• Facilitating the deployment of breakthrough technologies concerning alternative power-trains: alternatives fuels (liquid biofuels, gaseous fuels); electric vehicles (battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles,  conventional hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles).

In its Communication (adopted on 28 April 2010), the European Commission introduces some specific actions for electric vehicles.  These include consideration of different policy areas such as:

• Placement on the market (proposing electric safety requirements and reviewing crash safety requirements);
  
  
• Standardisation (development of a standard charging interface to ensure interoperability and connectivity);
  
  
• Infrastructures (proving a leading role in working with Member States on the build-up of charging points);
  
  
• Power generation and distribution (comparing the environmental and carbon footprint of vehicles based on a life cycle approach, evaluating the impact on well-to-wheel emissions and the increase in overall electricity demand).

Much of this policy programme will be delivered by member state governments at the national level. Meanwhile, city administrations are adopting more and more measures based on traffic management and planning powers which give special advantages  to users of clean vehicles. The range of potential policy initiatives is particularly wide.