Emissions reduction: EU countries disagree on the future of CO2 in cars

The countries of the European Union analysed for the first time the European Commission’s proposal to lower the CO2 reduction target required for new cars and vans from 100% to 90% by 2035, in the midst of escalating oil prices, with a barrel above 100 dollars.

The exchange sought to bring positions closer with a view to the negotiation with the European Parliament on the current regulation. The European Commission proposed in December to reduce the CO2 reduction required in 2035 from 100% to 90% compared to 2021, which would allow combustion cars to continue to be sold if they offset part of their emissions with biofuels or green steel. The government also opens the door to the continuation of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with extended range with a combustion engine as a generator, and softens targets for vans. Brussels proposed boosting demand with quotas for company fleets and creating a category of affordable small European electric cars with fewer regulatory burdens and specific incentives, as well as promoting ‘Made in Europe’.

“The future will be electric,” said the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, in the ministerial debate, where he assured that there is a “structural transformation underway”, but argued the amendments that Brussels wants to introduce in the regulation because “sometimes we take certain paths that do not allow us to reach the goal in an adequate time”.
Hoekstra, in any case, stressed that the EU must move away from fossil fuels for climate reasons, but also to reduce its energy dependence. With oil at 100 dollars, European drivers pay an additional 150 million euros a day to refuel, according to calculations by the organisation Transport and Environment.

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