What's the news?
The European Parliament has today taken a vote that could change the face of the car industry. The vote, on proposals put forward by the European Commission, could see car makers forced to cut 40 per cent of their vehicle CO2 emissions by 2030, and by the same date ensure that 35 per cent of their sales are made up of electric vehicles.
The proposals have been churning their way through the EU's workings for some time, and it looked as if a German-backed idea that there should be no penalties for missing the targets has been rejected - according to today's vote, there will indeed be penalties for car makers missing their marks.
Given that Europe's car makers are, in many cases, still struggling to get through the new WLTP fuel economy and emissions test, there must be some doubts as to whether they could meet these new requirements. The CO2 reduction, especially, is a tougher target than the 35 per cent compromise figure that many had been expecting.
The motor industry has reacted to the proposals with expected caution, and not a little alarm. "Boosting electric car sales will also require more support from national governments to ensure an EU‐wide roll‐out of recharging infrastructure, as well as incentives to encourage customers to switch to such vehicles" said Erik Jonnaert, Secretary Generalpof the ACEA, the umbrella group which represents European car makers at the governmental level. "The stakes of Wednesday's vote are extremely high for the entire sector, which accounts for over 6 per cent of the EU employed population and 27 per cent of all private EU investment in research and development."
Environmental campaigners, though, say that the industry will simply have to buckle down and get on with it. Julia Poliscanova, clean vehicles manager with pressure group Transport and Environment, said: "Despite an unprecedented lobby effort by the oil and car industries, the European Parliament has voted decisively to require carmakers to make their cars cleaner and sell more electric and hydrogen vehicles. This vote is good news for the climate, for jobs in Europe and for the millions of Europeans who will start to enjoy cleaner air in their cities.
"A clear majority of EU governments supports Parliament's decision to accelerate the transition to clean and electric mobility. Only Germany, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria oppose higher ambition. We shouldn't allow Germany to hold an entire continent to ransom over its failed diesel strategy. Ministers should approve Parliament's decision."
Next Tuesday, the 9th of October, will see a meeting of the EU's environment ministers who will have their chance to shape and influence the legislation. Ireland's position is already clear - the current Fine Gael government has already said that it wants to ban non-electric car sales after 2030 - but there are powerful lobby interests at work, so it remains to be seen if the proposals voted for today will yet be watered down.