EU policies
ECHA has published a new concise guidance, and an updated guidance fact sheet, on identification and the naming of substances under REACH and CLP. This guidance, intended for manufacturers and importers, explains how to name substances and determine whether these may be regarded as the same in the context of REACH and CLP.
In addition, ECHA has also published two guidance documents on application for authorisation.
ECHA’s support to SMEs
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Commission are planning a number of activities to support SMEs in the run up to the 2013 registration deadline. Speaking at a REACH conference organised by the Polish authorities, ECHA’s Director explained that the agency would support SMEs directly going forward to the 2018 registration deadline. ECHA will propose to SME lead registrants to attend a lead registrant workshop being organised by ECHA next February in Helsinki. Moreover, ECHA will engage with the companies in order to identify ways of support by ECHA’s and their national REACH helpdesks. For ECHA’s initiative, Mr Dancet stressed that SMEs must be lead registrants, and meet the criteria set out in EU law of an SME – this is based on size of turnover and workforce, and excludes companies if 20% or more of their shares are owned by a large company. Delegates at the Polish Conference had noted some difficulty dealing with guidance and REACH-IT when it was not written in their national languages, although a survey carried out over the summer concludes that the biggest problem faced by SMEs is the complexity of the Regulation, rather than language. The communication problems experienced by stakeholders relating to REACH-IT should improve by the 2018 deadline when a larger of proportion of SMEs is expected to register.
Commission encourages identification of SVHCs
The European Commission has published an information note for EU Member States encouraging them to contribute more actively in the identification of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) to enter the REACH candidate list. The note states that Commission aims to include “136 SVHC into the candidate list by the end of 2012 and all relevant currently know SVHCs by the end of 2020”. Already 20 of these substances are likely to be added in the SVHC list in January 2012. In the note, the Commission explains that it has asked ECHA to propose concrete actions with regard to the identification of SVHCs to be undertaken by the agency, the Commission and Member States alike. UEIL will monitor very closely the identification of this substances and their potential uses in the lubricant industry.
Parliament discusses sulphur content of marine fuels
In November, the European Parliament’s Environment committee held discussions on a draft report on the sulphur content of marine fuels. A Green Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Satu Hassi, is responsible for this report. She has made 4 main proposals which include the extension of the 0.1% limit to passenger vessels (in 2015), the application of the 0.1% limit in all EU territorial waters up to 12 miles from the coast and the flexible use of state aid help industry meet increased costs. In addition, Ms Hassi has called on the Commission to explore the establishment of new emission restriction areas and possible new sulphur and NOX emission control areas. The environment committee has diverging views on Ms Hassi’s recommendations to go further and faster than what is established by the IMO Convention. Several MEPs felt 0.1% in all EU waters made sense but it needed to be technically feasible and it was not for the Commission to decide on additional Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA).
This debate follows the Commission’s proposal to incorporate IMO standards into EU law to ensure their harmonized enforcement by all EU Member States. Under the proposal, the maximum permissible sulphur content of maritime fuels used in sensitive areas including the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel will fall from the previous level of 1.5 % to 0.1 %, as of 1 January 2015. These sensitive areas correlate with IMO Emission Control Areas (ECA) for SOx emissions. In other areas, the maximum sulfur content is to be reduced from 4.5% to 0.5% by 1 January 2020. Ships will be allowed to use equivalent technologies—such as exhaust gas scrubbers—in lieu of using low sulfur fuels. Other proposed changes include more unified reporting, verification and sampling provisions aligned with international standards. The proposal should be phased in from 2015 to 2020.with the aim to strengthen the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards which must be implemented in the EU. The MEP's proposals are likely to meet strong resistance within the shipping sector and in some Member States which see the Commission's proposals as too stringent. As indicated in the past, changes in the sulphur limits for fuels will require different fuel oil grades which may require the use of different lubricating oil grades and technical modifications of fuels. Given the current discrepancies between the three main EU institutions, it is unlikely that an agreement is reached soon. UEIL will continue monitoring this topic.
CARS 21 makes green recommendations
On 2 December, CARS 21 published its interim report which calls amongst other things for a new driving test-cycle and test procedure to be developed. These should better reflect real-world driving in terms of measuring the value of CO2 and regulated pollutant emissions. This should be complemented with measures controlling vehicle emissions in use, based on a thorough analysis, with the aim of delivering a timely reduction of real-world pollutant emissions, hence, contributing to improved air quality. Other recommendations the group made were the clarification and lead time to adapt to automotive requirements at EU level such as eco-innovations; a comprehensive approach to be developed for the reduction of CO2 emissions from Heavy Duty vehicles, covering a wide range of measures. The group also recommends financial incentives to boost clean vehicles' market take-up and limiting vehicle noise. The European Commission is expected propose new noise limits for cars and lorries on Friday 9 December. CARS 21 members are also discussing compliance with a limit of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre to be met by car manufacturers by 2020. The commission will propose more precise details for meeting this target, including how it will be shared among carmakers, in a forthcoming review of the European legislation. A public hearing has been organised on 13 May 2011 in order to gather input from additional interested stakeholders. UEIL will step up its efforts to get increased visibility in this debate and convey the main concerns of the industry.
Committee calls for 2020 green transport targets
On 22 November, the Parliament’s Transport committee drafted a resolution supporting the White Paper on Transport and asking the Commission to present legislative proposals with an objective of a 30% reduction by 2020 (compared to 2010 figures) in CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by transport. These proposals should be viewed as an interim target in transport. The MEPs are demanding by 2020 a 20% cut in carbon dioxide from road travel, a 30% CO2 reduction for shipping and aviation and a 20% drop in noise levels and energy use in the rail sector. The number of multi-modal platforms would also have to grow by 20%. Although MEPs are very keen on increasing these targets, Member States might be reluctant on agreeing to them, given that they might be set to provide more funding for the industry to be able to reach them. UEIL will continue to monitor this debate.
‘Electric cars can be reality very soon’, says MEP Vlasák
On 23 November 2011, MEP Oldřich Vlasák hosted a public hearing on ‘Electric cars – reality and perspectives in the European Parliament’. Speakers from the European Institutions and from industry shared their thoughts on the topic. Despite the challenges of e-mobility, there is consensus that electric vehicles (EVs) will be one of the main solutions to reach 2050’s EU emissions targets. MEP Vlasák, the chair of the Parliament’s transport committee, mentioned the potential of electric cars, and expect them to “be a reality very soon” as they are already fully integrated in mobility plans of some cities. A Swiss town for example has decided to limit access to city centre to electric vehicles only, in order to prevent air pollution. However, huge challenges remain to be addressed, namely as regards driving range of the EVs and refuelling time and costs. Against the high expectations surrounding electric cars, Ivan Hodač, Secretary General of ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) put the cautious note stating that the technology related to the EVs still needs to be further improved and thus, EVs will not be on the roads soon. For ACEA, the pillars for e-mobility success include: further technological progress, market driven uptake of technologies, relevant infrastructure development and adoption/creation of global standards. During the debate, panellists expressed diverging views with regards to electricity production for electric vehicles. Some stakeholders are concerned about the environmental impact of the increased use of electricity, as this might release considerable amounts CO2 into the atmosphere, despite the claims that EVs are ‘carbon neutral’ . Mr Hodač concluded that “it does not make any sense to put any EV on the market if the electricity does not come from renewables”. However, other speakers of the panel stressed that electric vehicles give already today the opportunity to move the pollution away from the cities, therefore improving air and noise quality. At the moment the framework for EVs is yet to be developed by the European Commission, although it is likely that this issue is revisited next year. UEIL will keep an eye on this issue and assess the potential impact that developments on this field can have on the lubricants industry.