(26/06/07) Klimaatvriendelijke voertuigen: vertragingsmaneuvers worden ingezet

• 2007-06-26

Vandaag debatteerde de milieucommissie van het EP over een strategie om de CO2-uitstoot van wagens te verminderen. De rapporteur - zie het als het EP-lid dat een voorstel van de Commissie bespreekt en daarna zijn rapport erover voorlegt aan zijn collega's die het dan bespreken - stelt voor dat de uitstootnormen voorzien voor eerst 2005, later 2010 pas zouden moeten worden gehaald tegen 2015. Leve de lobby van de autoindustrie ... Dit gaat in tegen het feit dat het verminderen van uitstootgassen van personenwagens een vitaal element is in de EU-klimaatstrategie.

Deze doelen worden nu opgevoerd als de oorzaak van het vertrek annex teloorgang van de autoindustrie in de EU. Dat is pure misleiding. Integendeel: de constructeurs die zich het eerste aanpassen zullen hun concurrenten een flinke stap voor zijn.

Climate friendly cars
Davies report advocates a further delay of mandatory curbs on car emissions

Commenting on today's debate on the EU's strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars in the European Parliament's Environment Committee, Rebecca Harms (1) , Vice-President of the Greens/EFA group said:
"Reducing CO2 emissions form cars by mandatory means is a vital pillar of the EU's strategy against climate change, which the Greens have now been calling on for more than a decade. Belatedly Parliament is now discussing such a strategy, with its rapporteur Chris Davies (2) proposing various minor measures. These proposals are disguising the fact that Davies is actually delaying the most important measure to reduce CO2 emissions from cars - reaching the EU objective of 120g/km by 2012. This target, set 10 years ago by the Council and European Parliament, was to be achieved by 2005 or by 2010 at the latest. Now the Environment Committee is calling for postponing the realisation of this target until 2015. This is an unacceptable surrender to the lobbying of the car industry as every year lost in advancing technical improvements will result in higher emissions for 10 or more years to come.

"I spurn attempts to misrepresent car efficiency legislation as pushing the car industry out of Europe, when it is clear that the legislation would apply to all vehicles sold on the EU market. It does not take a crystal ball to see that measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are imminent all around the world. The winners in the automobile industry will be the ones that can adapt quickest to a carbon constrained world.

"I urge the Commission to keep to its timetable of introducing a proposal for binding legislation on CO2 emissions by the end of 2007. Any delays will only reward the industry for not achieving their voluntary agreement targets. The voluntary approach has been proven to be a failure as most manufacturers are not on track to meet it. Any reductions that have been achieved can, for a large part, be explained by a shift to diesel vehicles in Europe."

Notes of the editor:
(1) Rebecca Harms is draftsperson for the Industry Committee opinion on the report
(2) EP report on a "Community Strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles", rapporteur Chris Davies (ALDE, UK)