Electric vehicle owners can earn several hundred euros extra each year. How does it work? Through the GHG quota. As a climate protection tool, the quota is designed to help minimize climate-damaging emissions in the transportation sector.The CO2 savings achieved by electric vehicles play a central role in this. These savings not only contribute to environmental protection but are also highly sought after by oil companies. In this blog post, you’ll learn how your fleet can benefit from this and what changes to the GHG quota regulations have taken effect since August 2023.
What is the GHG quota?
In Germany, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by at least 65% by 2030 and by at least 88% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. The transportation sector accounts for a large share of environmentally harmful emissions. Through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Quota—or GHG Quota for short—legislators therefore aim to reduce nationwide emissions and promote more sustainable mobility. The GHG quota is intended to help meet the EU’s transportation target of 14% renewable energy by 2030.
In accordance with the provisions of Sections 37a through 37c of the Federal Clean Air Act, oil companies that sell fossil fuels, such as gasoline or diesel, are required to offset their climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. The greenhouse gas reduction quota specifies the percentage by which emissions must be reduced within a year. While fuel suppliers are currently required to demonstrate a 7% reduction in CO₂ emissions, this target will rise to 25% by 2030. If the quota is not met, companies face fines of €600 for every metric ton of CO₂ that is not offset.
How GHG Allowance Trading Works
To comply with the requirements, companies can produce lower-emission fuels or purchase so-called emissions certificates. These are sold by companies that offer low-emission and zero-emission fuels. For example, charging station operators have been selling emissions certificates to oil companies for several years now. Since 2022, private and commercial owners of fully electric vehicles have also been able to sell the CO₂ they have saved. In return, they receive financial compensation. The price of the credits varies and is determined by supply and demand in the market.
To calculate the quota shares, the Federal Environment Agency estimates the electricity consumption of an electric car each year. For passenger cars, this figure is 2,000 kWh (as of 2022) in accordance with Section 7(3) of the 38th BImSchV. The resulting CO₂ savings—compared to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine—can then be sold as a quota.
There are now quite a few service providers that handle the sales transactions between oil companies and individuals or businesses that own electric vehicles. These providers also handle the application for the quota with the Federal Environment Agency and subsequently pay out the quota.
These changes will apply to the GHG quota regulations starting in August 2023
The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) has revised the regulations governing the GHG quota and announced changes. In addition to a shorter submission deadline, there are also changes regarding the vehicle classes eligible for the program.
Shortened Submission Period
One of the most important changes is the shortening of the application period. While applications for the GHG quota could previously be submitted until February 28 of the following year, the deadline has now been moved up to November 15 of the application year. Fleets with electric vehicles in their inventory should therefore apply for their incentives in a timely manner so as not to miss the earlier deadlines. The adjustment of the deadline is intended to speed up the processing of applications. However, it is debatable whether this will diminish the effectiveness of the GHG quota as a subsidy for electric mobility.
New Estimates for Vehicle Classes
There are also changes regarding the vehicle classes for which a subsidy application can be submitted. In the future, the GHG quota for vehicles exempt from registration can only be applied for if a separate estimated value is available for that vehicle class. As a result, the incentive for e-scooters and e-motorcycles will be eliminated. Until now, these vehicles were able to receive the same GHG quota as a regular electric car in vehicle class M1 thanks to voluntary registration.
Electric commercial vehicles and electric trucks in classes N2 and N3, on the other hand, will benefit from this change. Until now, the estimated value for passenger cars had been used for these vehicles. Commercial vehicles and trucks now have their own estimated value, thanks to which they receive individualized incentives and a higher bonus.
New, different values for the various vehicle classes:
- Class N1 (light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 metric tons): 3,000 kWh
- Class N2 (heavy-duty vehicles up to 12 metric tons): 20,600 kWh (previously calculated the same as passenger cars)
- Class N3 (heavy-duty vehicles over 12 metric tons): 33,400 kWh (previously calculated the same as passenger cars)
- Class M3 (buses): 72,000 kWh
For trucks weighing up to 12 metric tons (N2), this increases the bonus tenfold. Trucks weighing more than 12 metric tons (N3) receive nearly fifteen times as much.
Wallbox addresses are being published
You can also apply for a GHG bonus for private charging stations that are open to the public. If you have made the wallbox installed on your property available for public charging and apply for a bonus, the address of your wallbox will be publicly available through the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in the future. Only those who make their charging power publicly accessible and share it can benefit from the GHG quota. This is intended to improve the charging infrastructure while preventing wallboxes that are not publicly accessible from receiving a bonus.
Frequently Asked Questions About the GHG Quota for Vehicle Fleets
The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) has revised the regulations governing the GHG quota and announced changes. In addition to a shorter submission deadline, there are also changes regarding the vehicle classes eligible for the program.
In addition to private individuals, companies can also benefit from the GHG quota and register leased and company vehicles in their fleets. The only requirement is that the applicant is also the registered vehicle owner. One of the many service providers then handles the application for the incentive with the Federal Environment Agency and the sale of the GHG quota. These providers bundle all the certificates into packages and sell them to oil companies.
The GHG incentive can be applied for once per calendar year for each vehicle through at least 2030.
Once you have chosen a GHG provider, upload a copy of your vehicle registration certificate (Part 1) along with your contact and account information. The service provider will then handle everything else, such as applying for the GHG quota with the Federal Environment Agency and selling it to an oil company. The review by the Federal Environment Agency currently takes about six to eight weeks.
Yes, because the GHG bonus is tied to the vehicle. This means that a vehicle owner can apply for the GHG bonus for all vehicles registered in their name. If the vehicle changes owners, the GHG bonus cannot be claimed again in the same calendar year.
Carano will offer an automated interface for GHG subsidy applications through its Fleet+ fleet management software next year. This will make it very easy for you to secure the subsidy for all the vehicles in your fleet.
