The mess created by the DGT's environmental labels
Against all logic, the new sustainable mobility law does not include any modification to the classification system for environmental badges of combustion engine vehicles.
Although Pedro Navarro, director of the DGT, He asserted a year ago that the process of redefining the classification system The environmental labeling scheme was already in place and seemed unstoppable; however, the Congress of Deputies approved the new Sustainable Mobility Law last week without including the fifteenth additional provision, which was supposed to allow the Directorate General of Traffic to establish the appropriate mechanisms to modify the criteria for assigning environmental labels to new vehicles.
Sources close to the Spanish government indicate that this decision is based on the desire not to further complicate or confuse the end consumer by adding uncertainty, and that the process to establish a new system would take at least another year, and that in no case could it have a retroactive effect on vehicles already registered.
- ZERO label (blue color)<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Reserved for pure electric vehicles, extended range electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids with a minimum range of 40 kilometers and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.</span></p>
- ECO label (green and blue)<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The vehicles eligible for the label are plug-in hybrids with a range of less than 40 kilometers, conventional (non-plug-in) hybrids, and those powered by natural gas (CNG and LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This label has become a catch-all category that includes vehicles with very different emissions.</span></p><p></p>
- Label C (green)<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This applies to passenger cars and light vans with petrol engines registered from January 2006 onwards and diesel engines from 2014 onwards, as well as vehicles with more than 8 seats and heavy vehicles registered from 2014 onwards.</span></p>
- Label B (yellow)<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Identify passenger cars and light vans with petrol registered from January 2000 onwards and diesel from January 2006 onwards, as well as heavy vehicles with more than 8 seats registered from 2005 onwards.</span></p><p></p>
- Label A (without distinctive mark)<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The most polluting vehicles, which do not meet the requirements for any of these labels, do not receive an environmental badge and are the ones that already face the most restrictions on their use, especially in large cities.</span></p><p></p>
A unique (and arbitrary) labeling system
All European countries have their own system for classifying new vehicles based on their pollution levels and emissions standards, which are approved according to Euro regulations. These standards cover emissions of carbon monoxide, NOx, particulate matter, and other gases. Many European countries, such as Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium, among others, adhere to this technical specification and add other demonstrable and measurable evidence, such as CO₂ emissions levels.
Unfortunately, the Spanish system differs considerably from that of other countries in the region, classifying new vehicles based on engine type, age, and potential level of electrification. This system creates unrealistic situations, such as an SUV with a hybrid or mild-hybrid system, which emits more pollutants than a typical combustion engine city car, qualifying for the ECO environmental label or even the Zero Emissions label if it's a PHEV or plug-in hybrid, while a smaller, less polluting vehicle receives a standard label. This situation has drawn considerable criticism, which the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) sought to rectify with new regulations aligned with those of other European countries.
The government's change of course with the new sustainable mobility law stems from the need to approve this legislation before the end of the year to unlock €10 billion in aid from EU funds, but it does not resolve the specificities of Spain's vehicle environmental classification system. It remains to be seen whether the Spanish government has devised any alternative mechanism to address the disarray of Spain's environmental labeling system.