EU nears deal on car CO2 emissions

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The EU is getting closer to reaching an agreement to reduce CO2 emissions from cars, amid speculation that the bloc’s car-making countries have struck a deal to lower fines for manufacturers that fail to meet their CO2 targets.

The French EU Presidency, the European Parliament and the European Commission resumed talks yesterday (24 November) to thrash out an agreement on the main points of the proposed legislation. These include introducing emissions targets and setting out the proportion of the European fleet to which they will apply. It also foresees the establishment of a penalty system for non-compliance. “The trialogue was fruitful but it appears that this file will need further analysis,” Council sources told EurActiv.

The agreement will be a careful balancing act between the bloc’s environmental goals and the interests of the European car industry, currently weighed down by the economic crisis. The Council failed to reach agreement with the Parliament, which wants an ambitious long-term target for CO2 of 95g/km by 2020.

What national governments in the Council have agreed upon is a principle for which no figures have been established yet, a Council official said, adding that a lot of “fine-tuning” with the Parliament would be required.

It now seems likely that member states will approach the negotiations on the basis of a French proposal to limit CO2 emissions to 130 g/km for 65% of new cars in 2012, gradually rising to 100% in 2015. The French Presidency, which represents member states in the trialogue, is thereby championing the viewpoint of European carmakers, who have been pushing the EU to hold back its CO2 policy until 2015 and reduce fines for those only slightly above the target.

There was much speculation last week that the bloc’s big car-manufacturing countries (Italy, Britain, France and Germany) had teamed up to sign a deal on the gradual introduction of the legislation, as well as capping fines at €15/g for new cars emitting up to three grams more than the limit, rising to €95/g for large excesses, according to Reuters reports on Thursday (20 November), which quoted sources in Berlin and Brussels.

However, a German government spokesman refused to confirm the deal. “I believe there has been a narrowing of differences but there is not yet a complete agreement,” Thomas Steg said on Friday (21 November), insisting that that talks were ongoing.

For its part, the Commission proposed in December 2007 to cut the average emissions of new cars by 18% from current levels of around 160 grams of CO2 per kilometre to 130g/km by 2012, primarily by improving vehicle technology. A further 10g/km reduction is expected to come from improvements in other areas, including tyres, fuel, air-conditioning and eco-driving.

“With this agreement, the four major car-making nations of Europe have once again shown their lack of ambition to reduce CO2 emissions,” German Green MEP Rebecca Harms commented, lamenting that the €15 cap would make the fines more like a tax, compromising the intended CO2 reduction.

“The European Parliament demanded fines of 95 euro per gram with good reason: it was the bare minimum to make them meaningful. The European Parliament must not accept this political horse-trading. It must stand its ground and demand meaningful fines in its trialogue negotiations,” Harms continued.

Greenpeace called the ongoing negotiations “the last chance saloon” for the EU’s push to develop an effective means of reducing car emissions.

“The Germans and other manufacturing states have successfully bullied the French into emptying this legislation of all its meaning. Their shoddy deal means that the 130-gram target would be nothing more than wishful thinking. The average car sold in Europe in 2012 could emit more CO2 than is the case today,” said Greenpeace Europe’s transport campaigner Franziska Achterberg.