The negotiators of the European Council and the European Parliament have agreed to reduce the average CO2 emissions by 37.5% in new cars and 31% in vans, by 2030, as announced by the European Commissioner for Climate and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, through his Twitter account. At the beginning of the negotiations between the two European institutions, the MEPs were the most ambitious, defending a 40% decrease for cars, while the Member States set the reduction at 30%.
“With these ambitious targets, Europe is showing, once again, how to turn the Paris Agreement and the COP24 into action.” This is the comment added by Arias Cañete to the announcement published on the social network, in which he refers to the agreement against climate change reached in the French capital in 2015 and the regulatory package agreed at the recently closed Katowice climate summit (Poland), where the implementation of the Paris Agreement is articulated.
In the negotiations held in recent months leading to the agreement, the idea of the European Parliament for 2030 was to have less polluting vehicles circulating on the roads. The draft law approved by the Chamber then proposed a reduction of emissions of new passenger cars of 40% by 2030 (compared to 30% from 2021 level proposed by the European Commission), with an intermediate target of reducing 20% in 2025.
For its part, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, held by Austria until the end of the year, presented to the 28 an intermediate proposal of 35% reduction of vehicles CO2 emissions by 2030, halfway between 30 % of the European Commission and 40% proposed by the European Parliament.
Transportation, a sector with increasing emissions
Transportation is the only large sector in the EU whose greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow, the MEPs underline. In order to fulfill the commitments assumed by the EU within the framework of the Paris agreement in 2015 and to move towards a zero emission level by the middle of the century, the sector must accelerate its reconversion.
In parallel, the automotive market is transforming at high speed, especially with innovations in electric propulsion systems. If European manufacturers are late in starting the transition process, they run the risk of losing their leadership position.
