Parliament is the driving force behind stronger reductions on CO2 emissions for cars

Last night, "trilogue" negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on new legislation to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars by 2030 were concluded. 

While the European Commission proposed a 30% reduction and Parliament defended a 40% target, the compromise reached is 37.5%. The Greens/EFA group deplores the lack of ambition shown by national political leaders to take the necessary measures to address climate change, but welcome efforts of the Parliament.

Bas Eickhout, climate spokesperson for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and leading candidate in the European elections comments:

"After lengthy and difficult discussions with Member States and the Commission, the Greens/EFA group and the European Parliament have succeeded in gaining far greater emissions reduction targets for cars than originally envisaged and limited proposed credits for plug-in hybrids.

"Despite the recent IPCC report and the lack of ambition shown in Katowice, this is simply not enough to avert climate catastrophe and we are still racing toward disaster. The kind of effort showed by EU governments is the equivalent of switching from fifth to fourth gear while keeping your foot on the accelerator; it'll slow you down a little but it won't stop the car from crashing.

"Yet, despite reluctance from the capitals, the European Parliament has proven that it is the only institution in the driving seat on the road to reaching the Paris climate goals."