Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility at European NGO Transport & Environment, said its own research showed that when driven in combustion-engine mode, hybrids' CO2 emissions were higher than conventional cars' - they're heavier than combustion-only cars so used more fuel. One study, from the International Council on Clean Transportation last September, said PHEVs' fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are up to four times the level they are approved for because people do not charge them often enough. The rules, which are still being drafted, come against the backdrop of a shift in the position of some leading environmental groups which are pushing to dispel PHEVs' green credentials and do away with their subsidies. To reach an overall climate neutrality target in 2050, nearly all cars on the roads must be zero emissions by that time, the Commission added. 'For most people, a battery electric car is not yet practical,' he told Reuters.Ī European Commission official declined to comment on the green finance rules specifically, but said its policies were 'technology neutral', adding that PHEVs were 'a transition technology towards zero-emission mobility'.
