Following a political agreement between the three political groups backing Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee voted on Wednesday to adopt a proposal to lower the Union’s CO2emissions target for new cars from 100 per cent to 87.5 per cent from 2035.
The agreement between the nominally conservative EPP Group, the socialist S&D Group and the liberal Renew Group marks a further setback for the Commission’s ‘Green Deal’, writes Euronews.
The groundwork is being laid for a decision in the European Parliament’s plenary session that will repeal what has, in practice, been a total ban on new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035.
This marks a significant political U-turn from 2023, when the EU agreed to effectively phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.
Car production in the EU is a fifth lower than it was before the Covid pandemic, and electric car sales in the bloc are progressing much more slowly than had been hoped, and the industry, European governments and many EU politicians have got cold feet, not least due to tougher economic times and aggressive competition from China.
The Commission has therefore come under pressure, particularly from the EPP Group, Germany and Italy, to lower the level of ambition for its own ‘climate targets’.
The measure goes further than the European Commission’s proposal, which would have lowered the 2035 target from a 100 per cent reduction in emissions to a 90 per cent reduction.
Under the compromise reached in Parliament, manufacturers using climate-friendly steel will receive an additional 7.5 per cent credit, whilst the target for vans will fall from 90 per cent to 80 per cent.
No one believes this is the end of the matter. The European Parliament has, in effect, set in motion a gradual erosion of the ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035.
The vote marks a significant shift in the EU’s climate policy and the balance of power in the Parliament, where there was previously broad political consensus on ever-stricter CO2 emission standards.
With sky-high energy costs threatening Europe’s industrial competitiveness, legislators are increasingly focusing on protecting the car industry.
It is the shift of Europe’s political centre of gravity to the right that has paved the way for this U-turn.
The EPP, which previously helped to uphold the EU’s climate legislation alongside the Socialists, the Liberals and the Greens, has increasingly questioned the pace and implementation of the green transition, and has at times joined forces with the far right.
The Greens have warned that this move threatens the cross-party consensus that underpinned Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘Green Deal’.
The next EU elections are likely to see a slight shift further in the same direction.
The refrain has been for some time now: ‘Yes, we want climate neutrality, but…’ etc.
The experienced German MEP Peter Liese, the EPP’s spokesperson on climate policy, praised the political will shown by the various groups.
“We want climate neutrality, but with the rules we have now agreed upon, we are also ensuring technology neutrality. Personally, I am convinced that the future belongs to electric cars. However, electric vehicles with range extenders and plug-in hybrids with a long electric range will also have a role to play in 2035 and beyond,” said Liese.
The EU’s ‘Green Deal’ looks set to be slowly but surely eroded during the remainder of the von der Leyen Commission’s term, before quietly fading into obscurity.
