Car emissions : Lightweight vote offers only 8g CO2 reduction by 2012
Yesterday evening, the European Parliament's industry committee voted on the opinion drafted by the German conservative Werner Langen on CO2 emissions from passenger cars. Rebecca Harms, vice president of the Green group in the European Parliament commented:
"I am deeply disappointed by the result of the vote on this important issue. The conservatives and the liberals, led by their German members, managed to water down the Commission proposal on several points that are crucial for the success of the regulation.
The target to reach a fleet average of 120g CO2 per kilometre has been postponed for several years and the so-called 'phase in' of the regulation effectively means a weakening of the emission target. An average of approximately 150g CO2/km would be reached in 2012 instead of 120g CO2/km. That represents a meagre 8g reduction on today's average.
Furthermore the penalties for non-compliance have been weakened substantially. For most producers it would be far cheaper to buy their way out of the obligations instead of making the technological changes to meet them.
One redeeming feature is that a long term target has been added to the Commission's proposal. This target is important for the effectiveness for the regulation. But the result of the vote shows that many of the members of the industry committee find it much easier to promise big changes in the future than to take the first important steps to get there.
I sincerely hope that the result of the votes in the leading environment committee that will take place next week will be more ambitious. I hope that Guido Sacconi, rapporteur on this issue and chair of the climate committee, will prioritise the environmental effectiveness of the regulation instead of appeasing our domestic industry."
