The European Union has agreed on a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from passenger cars by 37.5% by 2030, paving the way for a stronger zero-emission vehicle push over the next decade.
The agreement brings to an end the divide among countries in the 28-nation bloc on how strict the continent would be on CO2 reductions, Reuters reports. The European parliament had earlier this year been pushing for a 40% target, but Germany, which has Europe’s largest auto sector, had been lobbying for no more than 30%. It said that a high target could harm its industry and cost jobs. In the end, a compromise was struck.
Representatives of the European Parliament and EU countries finally struck a compromise, agreeing to a 37.5% reduction for cars and 31% for vans by 2030, compared with 2021. The EU also agreed on an interim target of reducing emissions by 15% for both cars and vans by 2025.
Despite the progress, the green camp felt there could have been more. Environmental groups said that while it was a positive step, the plan wasn’t ambitious – or fast – enough, with only around a third of new cars being sold by 2030 set to be electric or hydrogen-powered.
Still, they had more to cheer than automakers, who thought it was too large a step to make. The German association of the automotive industry (VDA) said via a statement that the new regulation would set high demands while doing little to promote or provide incentives for switching to electric vehicles, the report added.
Separately, Volkswagen said that the targets set by the new EU emissions ruling means that its €30 billion (RM142.95 billion) push on the EV front in the next five years will not be sufficient to cover the needed ground or meet goals. It said it will have to review its planning sometime next year.
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