20.1.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC14/17
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiverelatingtothesulphurcontentofgasoil(')
(92/C14/08)
On28June1991theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity ,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon9October1991.TheRapporteur
wasMrGafoFernandez .
Atits290thplenarysession(meetingof30October1991),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
unanimouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.Introduction necessarychangestotheirplantandgivingconsumers,
bothindustrialanddomestic,aprecisereferenceframe­
worktoguidetheminmakingtherightfuelquality
decisions. 1.1.ThecurrentDirectiveispartoftheprocessof
approximating thelawsonthesulphurcontentofgas­
oilswhichbeganwithDirective75/716/EEC,as
amendedbyDirective87/219/EEC.
1.2.ThelatterDirectivereducedthemaximumper­
mittedsulphurcontentfrom0,5%byweightto0,3%,
whilstprovidingfortheuseoffuelswithamaximum
sulphurcontentof0,2%inareaswheretheenviron­
mentorpublichealthrequiredit.1.7.Themarketforthisproductcanbedividedinto
threedistinctsegments:
—Automotivegasoil:thisaccountsforsome50%of
thetotal.Usedindieselenginesofcars,lorries,farm
andpublictransportvehicles.Itisestimatedthat
30to40%isusedinurbancentresandtheremain­
ing60to70%outside.Alargeproportionofcon­
sumptionisthereforedirectlylinkedwithmanufac­
turing.1.3.TheDirectivehasathree-foldobjective:protec­
tionoftheenvironment ,completionoftheinternal
marketandtheestablishmentofalong-termreference
standardforproducersandconsumers .
—Heatingandindustrialgasoil:approximately 43to
45%oftotalconsumption ,whichisconcentrated
onurbanareas. 1.4.Theenvironmental protectionobjectiveistwo­
fold.First,toreduceS02emissions,which,whilst
responsibleonlytoalimitedextentforacidrain,can,
however,haveadetermininginfluenceonwhereit
occurs.Secondly,andperhapsmoreimportantly ,to
permitthedevelopmentandmanufactureofnewdiesel
engines,capableofcomplyingwiththestrictparticulate
emissionlimitswhichtheCouncilhasapprovedfor
1996andwhichcannotbeachievedwithfuelofcurrent
quality.—Marinediesel:approximately 5to7%oftotalcon­
sumption.Itisusedmainlybythefishingfleet,but
alsobyinlandwaterwayvesselsandintheauxiliary
enginesoflargemerchantvessels.Alargepro­
portionisthususedonthehighseas.Dieselcur­
rentlyusedonthehighseashasasulphurcontent
ofbetween0,6and1%weight(theinternational
standard).
1.5.Withregardtotheinternalmarket,theharmon­
izationofspecifications isintendedtoendthedual
sulphurcontentstandardsforthisproduct;asfrom
1October1994therewillbeasinglequalitystandard
forthewholeoftheEECandfutureadvanceswillbe
madeinauniformwaythroughouttheCommunity .1.8.ThestructureoftheCommunitymarketisnot
homogeneous .Forinstance,theproportionofauto­
motivegasoiltototalgasoilconsumptionis40%inthe
centreandnorthoftheCommunity,but60-65%in
countriesliketheUnitedKingdom,Italy,Spainand
Portugal.Theeffortsrequiredtoreducesulphurcontent
willthusnotbethesamethroughouttheCommunity .1.6.Finally,adetailedlong-termtimetableistobe
establishedenablingoilrefineriestoundertakethe
(J)OJNoC174,5.7.1991,p.18.1.9.ReductionsinS02emissionswillberelatively
modest,possiblyaround400000tonnesin1996and

NoC14/18 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 20.1.92
2.Generalcomments 550000tonnesintheyear2000.Thesefiguresrepresent
only3,3%and5,5%respectivelyofthe12and
10,3milliontonnesofS02estimatedfortheCom­
munityasawholeinthestudyentitledEnergy2010.2.1.TheCommitteewelcomesthisnewDirective
whichcancontributetoprotectionoftheenvironment
andtogreaterharmonization withintheinternalCom­
munitymarket.
1.10.However,thereductioninthesulphurcontent
ofautomotivegasoilwillnotonlycutS02emissionby
some300000tonnesperyear,but,aspointedout
above,willalsodrasticallyreduceparticulateemissions
fromdieselvehicles(thisbeingthemainobjective).2.2.TheCommitteealsowishestostresstheuseful­
nessofthelong-termreferenceframeworklaiddown
bytheDirective.Suchaframeworkisessentialgiven
thelongperiodsoftenrequiredfortechnologicaldevel­
opment.TheCommitteeurgestheCommissionto
developinitiativesofthiskindwhereverpossible,to
helpdispeltheuncertaintiesofmanufacturers andcon­
sumers.1.11.TheharmonizedCommunitymaximumlevel
of0,2%sulphurbyweighttoapplytoheatinggasoil
from1994willcutS02emissionsbysome75000tonnes
peryearfrom1996,risingto130000-150000tonnes
peryearfrom1999,whenthesulphurcontentwillbe
furtherreducedto0,1%.However,despitethesemod­
estfigures,ithastoborneinmindthatconsumption
oftheseproductsoccursmainlyinurbancentreswith
S02emissionlevels,thesebeingregulatedbyDirective
80/779/EEConairqualityandsulphuranhydride.2.3.TheCommitteedoeshoweverregretthelate
appearanceoftheDirective.Theyear'sdelaybeyond
theoriginalplannedpublicationdatehasmeantcon­
siderableuncertaintyfortheCommunitycarindustry
withregardtothedevelopmentofnewenginestobe
usedinconjunctionwithnewfuelqualities.
1.12.Finally,lackofprecisedatamakesasimilar
quantitiveestimateformarinedieselimpossible,
althoughS02emissionsfromthissourceareinanycase
clearlyinsignificant .2.4.TheCommitteesupportstheintroductionofthe
newlow-sulphurautomotivegasoil.TheCommittee
alsobelievesthatreducedparticulateemissionsfrom
dieselvehicles,whichareregardedasharmfultohealth,
fullyjustifythehighercostofthenewqualityofgasoil.
1.13.Forecastsofthecostofcuttingsulphurcontent
showaremarkablespread.TheCommissionproposal
estimatesadditionalcostsatbetween4,5and14dollars
pertonneofgasoilwith0,05%sulphur,althoughrecent
estimatessuggestthatthislowerlimitcouldbetwice
ashigh.Apreliminaryestimateoftheadditionalcost
ofreducingthesulphurcontentofheatingandmarine
dieselto0,1%isto4to6dollarspertonne.2.5.1.Withregardto,thereductioninthesulphur
contentofheating,andespeciallymarine,gasoil,the
CommitteecallsontheCommissiontocarryoutas
soonaspossiblein-depthstudiesintothecostsand
benefitsofreducingthesulphurcontentofheating
gasoilsfrom0,2%to0,1%by1999andtoaddressthe
questionofwhethermarinegasoilshouldbeincluded
inthescopeoftheDirective.
2.5.2.TheCommitteeconsiderssuchacost/benefit
analysisforheatinggasoilstobeappropriateinthe
lightoftheproportionately modestreductioninS02
emissions,whichwouldbeachieved—notwithstanding
thefactthatsuchgasoilsareusedmainlyinurban
centresandtheneedtoreducethelevelofS02in
suchareas.Itthereforeneedstobeconsideredwhether
alternativemeasures,suchasmorerationalfuelusevia
information,improvedboiler(l)efficiency,thethermal
insulationofhomesorgreateruseofrenewableenergy
sourcescouldbringaboutasharperreductioninemis­
sionsataconsiderablylowercost.
2.5.3.Asimilarpointcouldbemadeinrelationto
marinegasoil.ThereductioninS02emissionsachieved1.14.Thus,thetotalcostoftheproposalcanbe
estimatedasfollows:
—newdieselquality:ECU600-700millionperyear,
—newqualityofheatingandmarinegasoil:ECU330
to380millionperyear.
1.15.Althoughthetimeavailableformodifying
refineryplanttoproducethenewqualityofgasoilis
limited,meetingthedeadlines(1October1994forthe
reductionto0,2%and1October1996forthereduction
inautomotivegasoilto0,05%)wouldseemtoposeno
problem,providedalwaysthattheCounciladoptsthe
draftDirectivewithoutdelayandthatMemberStates
enactthenecessarylegislationforthwiththereafter. (i)OJNoC102,18.4.1991,p.46.

20.1.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC14/19
willbeinsignificantasaproportionoftheCommunity
total.Furthermore ,shipsaregenerallyfreetofuelout­
sidetheCommunity,whichmakesitimpossibleto
checkthequalityofgasoilintheirfueltankswhenthey
entertheCommunity ;thequalityofthesefuelsis,in
anycase,regulatedbyaninternationalstandardofthe
InternationlaOrganizationforStandardization (ISO)
whichstipulates,interalia,themaximumsulphurcon­
tent.Withregardtothereductioninthelevelofsulphur
inmarinegasoil,theCommitteeurgestheCommission
toundertakeinitiativeswithaviewtosecuringan
internationalagreementextendingbeyondtheCom­
munityand,ifnecessary,amendingtheISOspecifi­
cation.
2.6.Norcantheindirectnegativeimpactofthese
measuresontheenvironmentbeneglected.Recentesti­
matessuggestthatreducingS02emissionsmeans
increasingCO^emissions.InthelightoftheCom­
munity'sobjectiveofstabilizingemissionsofC02,these
factorsmustalsobetakenintoconsideration .The
CommitteethereforefeelsthattheCommissionshould
carryoutadetailed'cradletograve'analysisofthe
directcostsandexternaleffectsofanychangeinthe
productionstructureorquality/compositionofprod­
ucts.affectingthecompetitiveness ofCommunityindustry
asawhole.
3.Specificcomments
3.1.Article1.1
ThedefinitionofgasoilsinthisArticleisnotsufficiently
precise;alowerdistillationlimitneedstobeestablished .
3.2.Article2.2
GiventheexistingdifferencesbetweentheMember
Statesandthetimeneededtoconstructhydrodesulphu­
rizationplants,therequirementthat0,05%gasoil
shouldaccountforatleast25%ofdistributionwould
seemdifficulttomeet.Itwouldbebettertoensure
effectivelytheavailabilityandbalanceddistributionof
thisfuelinalltheMmemberStates,whileleavingthe
decisionastothequantitiesconsumedtothefinal
consumer .
3.3.Article2.3
3.3.1.Thereferencetogasoilsforshipsshouldbe
dropped.
3.3.2.Replacethewords'0,1%byweightasfrom
1October1999'withthefollowing:
'TheCommissionintendstocarryoutstudiesto
establishwhetherthemaximumsulphurcontentof
heatingandindustrialgasoilsshouldbereducedto
0,1%byweightfrom1October1999.Similar
studieswillbecarriedouttoestablishaharmonized
limitforthesulphurcontentofbunkergasoils.'
3.4.IncorporateanewArticle4a:
'Beforetheendof1996theCommissionshallpre­
pareafollow-upreportontheapplicationofthe
Directivewhichwillestablishfuturepolicyforthe
maximumsulphurcontentofgasoilforheating,
industrialpurposesandshipping.'2.7.Finally,theCommitteefeelsthat,giventherela­
tiveinelasticityofdemandintheshortrun,taxincen­
tivestoacceleratetheintroductionofthenewqualities
ofautomotivegasoilwouldbeinappropriate .However,
theCommitteefeelsthatfrom1October1996the
highercostsofmanufacturing anddistributingthese
moreenvironment-friendly fuelsshouldbecompen­
satedfor,atleastinpart,byadjustingtheexciseduties
leviedontheseproducts(ECU245percubicmetre
minimumforautomotivegasoilandECU3percubic
metreminimumforheatingoil).Thiswouldhelpspread
thebenefitsoflowerS02emissionstothewholeof
society;alargeproportionofthesefuelsisconsumed
bytheroad-haulageandpublictransportsectors,thus
DoneatBrussels,30October1991.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
FrancoisSTAEDELIN