EU deadlock on car emissions

Disagreement within the European commission has delayed a key proposal on cutting CO2 emissions from cars.

The commission was due to table a proposal on 24 January on capping CO2 emissions from cars at 120g/km, along with a package of measures on fuel quality standards and competitiveness.

But a clash between environment commissioner Stavros Dimas and industry commissioner Günter Verheugen has pushed the proposals back.

Dimas is pushing for the binding caps on CO2 emissions from motor vehicles, while Verheugen opposes mandatory targets.

A commission spokeswoman on 22 January said the proposal would be tabled in “a couple of weeks”, adding that it was postponed because it was “not yet ready for adoption and debate”.

“Commission president Barroso wants to ensure a large consensus on the package and on the best ways to achieve the objective,” she said.

But she emphasised that the president “believes that binding legislation is necessary” on cutting CO2 from vehicles.
“Barroso sees broad agreement on the objective of 120g/km by 2012,” she said.
The commission says the disagreement between Verheugen and Dimas is not about the objective, but about ways to achieve it – such as which areas the legislation should cover.

Observers, however, point to deeper differences of opinion between the two commissioners.

Dimas wants to set binding targets for car makers who have failed to make good on voluntary commitments made in 2004.

At the time, car manufacturers pledged to reduce CO2 emissions to an industry average of 140g/km, or 25 per cent of 1995 levels, by 2008 – but they are now set to miss this target.

As a result, Dimas said he wanted to propose legislation to ensure that cars do their share in the fight against climate change.

Verheugen, on the other hand, is worried about the impact of new legislation on the car industry and has made it clear in recent months that he thinks the EU’s environmental leadership should not come at the expense of its competitiveness. 

The car industry – particularly powerful carmakers in Germany – is strongly resisting any legislative move, saying the proposals will cost money and cause job losses.

It remains to be seen how Barroso will succeed in bridging the gap, preserving the EU’s much-touted commitment to the fight against climate change while protecting industry.

For now, the commission spokeswoman said the paper which will eventually be tabled will not contain a legislative proposal, but rather “proposals on the steps forward”.

Green MEP Claude Turmes reacted angrily to the postponement, saying the proposal was “delayed in the context of lobbying by car manufacturers to weaken the text”.

He called the commission to stick to its guns, arguing that “we will not achieve our climate policy targets by wasting precious bioresources on inefficient cars."

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