• Criticism of CO2 from new cars proposals

    Environment ministers from Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland have criticised the Commission for trying to weaken the EU’s commitment for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from new cars.

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    [mailchimp_signup][/mailchimp_signup]In a first ministerial discussion on the Commission’s proposals to reduce the obligation on European car makers to have the average new car emitting 130 grams per kilometre of CO2 by 2012 instead of 120, the 27 environment ministers expressed overwhelming support for binding legislation, but three said the 120 g/km target should have remained.

    Denmark’s minister Connie Hedegaard was particularly outspoken. Quoted in a Danish magazine, she accused the Commission of protecting the German car industry, saying: “I am not impressed by the proposal of 130 g/km. It is not ambitious for the EU to set less restrictive goals than 120 g/km, it is just support for big German car producers.”

    The decision to reduce the target for the car makers followed a lobbying campaign by German industry which T&E described as “hysterical” and “mindless scaremongering”. The Commission says the EU’s target of 120 g/km by 2012 remains, but the obligation on the manufacturers is only 130 g/km, with the remainder to be made up from other measures such as requirements on tyres, air conditional systems and vehicle labelling.

    POST-2012

    Ministers from Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands challenged the part of the proposal that would allow a greater use of biofuels in transport to count towards the 120 g/km target. And the Danes, Dutch and British were the only nations recognising the need for longer-term targets beyond 2012.

    T&E director Jos Dings said: “Climate change is a long-term challenge, and so is car marking. Denmark has proposed 100 g/km by 2020, and the Netherlands has called for car fuel efficiency to be doubled by 2020. We need other countries to follow the Dutch example.”

    Ministers are expected to agree on a common position in the summer, with draft legislation likely next year.

    • Germany’s car industry is on the defensive after being accused by the German president Horst Kohler of failing to build cleaner vehicles.
    Martin Winterkorn of Volkswagen said German companies were acting to protect an industry under threat from the Commission. He also said politicians “are among our best customers” for their love of large cars.

    This news story is taken from the March 2007 edition of T&E Bulletin.