EC’s emission car plan attracts flak as car lobby accused of drawing its teeth

Ambitious proposals to cut emissions in new cars across the European region stand accused of being fatally undermined after an apparent last-minute concession was made to the German car industry.

The Clean Mobility proposal, unveiled by the European Commission Wednesday, sets out to establish new emissions targets for new cars and vans, and drive the transition to low and zero emission vehicles as part of the European Union’s response to the Paris Agreement’s aim of establishing a binding CO2 reduction of at least 40% by 2030.

The primary initiative levies a requirement on car manufacturers to ensure that CO2 emissions from new vehicles will be 30% lower in 2030 versus to 2021, while also boosting the production of zero and low emission vehicles.

By 2030, car makers will also be expected to ensure their production deliver 15% zero and low emission vehicles by 2025, rising to 30% by 2030, but environmental groups have drawn attention to the lack of a penalty for any car maker that fails to meet the target.

“The failure to apply penalties for missing the goal renders [the proposal] largely ineffective,” the environmental NGO Transport & Environment said in a statement after the EC’s announcement.

While there will be penalties under the wider emissions scheme of 95 euros per gram per car, there is no penalty for missing the production targets.

The initial draft proposal included the target for zero emission vehicles and proposals for a penalty if car markers missed that target.

Transport & Environment claimed an eleventh-hour phone call between Matthias Wissmann, president of German automotive industry body the VDA, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, was key in altering a draft that contained stricter penalties.

Commission press officers declined to comment on the statement from the NGO, but described the allegations as ‘completely unfounded’ in an email to Census.

“The Commission acts in the general European interest, the proposals are ambitious and yet balanced and realistic,” spokesperson Nicole Bockstaller said via email.

However, Transport & Environment’s Greg Archer told Census that the proposals had broad approval from Commissioners, and was supported by nine Member States who have already written to say they wanted a more ambitious target.

Broad consensus

The proposal is also likely to have broad acceptance from the Parliament and the Council, both key stakeholders in moving the proposal through the next stages of the legislative process.

Archer also made the point that the current proposal has nothing binding to ensure the emission reductions legislated for are delivered on the road, versus in the laboratory.

“Only 40% of the total progress claimed by the car industry has actually been achieved on the road, 60% has only been delivered in the laboratory,” he said.

German car makers were at the forefront of emission scandals in 2015 and 2016, as major brands such as Volkswagen were caught using software to manipulate emissions in order to surpass standards.

“The problem is that the car industry doesn’t see emission cuts as something that needs to be delivered, it needs to be worked around,” Archer said.