EU to adopt 37.5% CO2 emission cuts for cars
European Parliament is expected to cut CO2 emissions for cars
“Vehicles have become increasingly efficient in recent years, but with the CO2 emission cut that we have agreed on, equal to a 37.5 percent reduction for new passenger car fleets by 2030, we have come very close to the maximum that the EU can currently afford”, said Jens Gieseke MEP, EPP Group Spokesman, commenting ahead of the vote in the European Parliament.
The European Commission’s original proposal was that average emission cuts for the new EU fleet of cars and vans would amount to 30 percent by 2030, whereas for 2025, targets for both amounted to 15 percent. During the negotiations, the EPP Group supported realistic targets set by the Commission, whereas the Greens, for instance, insisted on entirely unrealistic targets, amounting to as much as 75 percent emission cuts.
Gieseke believes that such unreasonably high reductions as requested by the Greens at the beginning of the debate would have serious consequences: “This would not help the environment; it would, rather, destroy jobs and growth in Europe. The EPP Group wants to actively engage in the fight against climate change, but it also wants to remain realistic. That is why the final compromise, a 37.5 percent reduction for new cars and vans by 2030, is something we could agree to”, said Gieseke.
“With regard to technology neutrality, we could have done more. In addition to electric mobility, the EPP Group thought hybrid drives and innovative fuels such as e-fuels would also have offered an effective solution for the reduction of CO2”, said Gieseke, recalling that the EPP Group has always asked for more recognition of these technologies.
“There are shortcomings in the compromise but it is important to finally have an agreement and legal certainty. This provides industry with the necessary planning security”, concluded Gieseke, noting that “the development of the vehicles, which will be on the market by 2025, is already ongoing.”