EU states fume at emissions proposal
Four large states want slower pace of emissions reductions for vans.
Environment ministers from some of the EU’s largest member states today told the European Commission that the auto industry needs more time to produce less-polluting vans and called for a delay in the introduction of emission-reduction targets.
Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK were among the member states that said the implementation date of a regulation aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions from vans should be postponed. Several countries also argued that the financial penalties for carmakers that miss these targets were too high.
Under the European Commission’s current proposal, the automobile industry would have to reduce average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to 175 grams per kilometre by 2016. This represents a cut of 13% compared to the average emissions in 2007, of 203 grams CO2 per km. The Commission wants the target to be phased in, with carmakers required to ensure that 75% of their fleets meet this standard by 2014.
Leading the criticism, Italy’s representative said that his government had “considerable doubts” about the feasibility of the proposal. He argued that light commercial vehicles had “limited potential for emissions improvement” and that the industry should have a further three or four years to meet the target.
Click Here: pinko shop cheap
The UK is against a 2014 start date for the phasing in of the law, but says it would accept a 2016 start for the whole fleet, arguing that date would be “a better fit for production cycles”.
At the start of the debate, Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, insisted that the 2014 target was “feasible and manufacturers will be able to meet it”.
“Progress has been very slow,” she said, adding that “the industry will not make efforts to reduce emissions unless it is mandated to so”.
The warmest support for Hedegaard’s position came from a handful of small countries. Ministers from Greece and Hedegaard’s home country, Denmark, said that they would have preferred a more ambitious proposal. Denmark believes the proposal should be extended to include mini-buses and to include incentives to meet the targets earlier.
There was more agreement among member states on setting a long-term target to reduce average emissions to 135g CO2/km by 2020, though most countries said that a study should be done in 2013 to assess the feasibility of this goal.
Reprise of car debate
Transport is the only part of the European economy in which greenhouse gas emissions are still rising and the Commission is worried that it could derail the EU’s climate-change targets.
The debate on the vans proposal is turning into a re-run of arguments over a similar law to reduce carbon emissions from cars agreed in 2008.
“The argument is pretty much the same,” said Hedegaard, who added that she was not surprised at the calls for delays. She said the Commission would reflect on comments, but said that “the more the EU delays regulation like that, the more we will have to do in other fields to achieve our targets….We should be realistic, but not too hesitant.”
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association argues that the proposed deadlines are unrealistic because manufacturers need five to seven years to bring new light commercial vehicles from the design studio to the road.
Transport and Environment, a group of green-transport campaigners, has said that these claims are not credible because some van makers were already producing greener vehicles: “The car industry’s lobbyists said ‘No’ to car CO2 standards, but the engineers proved them wrong. They said the proposed short term target for vans was ‘impossible’, but the industry is well on the way,” said Kerstin Meyer for T&E.
● At their meeting in Brussels, the EU’s environment ministers also agreed conclusions on the EU’s climate strategy. Their conclusions contain no surprises. Ministers “regretted” that the outcome of Copenhagen “did not reflect the EU’s expectations and ambitions” and reiterated that the EU is prepared to increase its current emissions-reduction pledge – to lower emissions by 20% by 2020, using 1990 emissions as the benchmark – to 30% if other countries make similar efforts.