Member states of the European Union have agreed on Tuesday on a proposal seeking a 35 percent cut in car emissions by 2030 following a report from the UN regarding the rapidly rising rate of global warming. Germany, meanwhile, voiced concerns on the impact that these new challenging environmental policies could make saying that this could put the auto manufacturing industry at risk and endanger thousands of jobs.
In the report from Auto News, several members of the bloc had sought higher CO2 emission reduction rates at 40 percent following a close deliberation in Luxembourg last week. Ireland and Netherlands were among those countries who voiced out their disappointment on the compromise deal.
Germany, on its case, supported the EU executive proposal to settle the rate at around 30 percent for new cars and vans in 2023. Berlin, with its big auto sector, found backing from other Eastern European nations to go up against the steep reduction targets, unnamed EU sources said.
As indicated over at Reuters, the initial compromised agreement made by the panel of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg City is yet to be finalized this Wednesday by the two other lawmaking bodies of the Union: the European Parliament and the European Commission. Each of the committees has different leanings on the proposal.
The EU Parliament, for instance, is seeking a higher climate target similar to what Ireland and Netherlands proposed for. On the other hand, the European Commission is looking to settle at a much lower level with the preservation of industrial competitiveness in mind.
UN Environmental Report
A joint communiqué released earlier by the different branches of the EU ruling commission expressed deep concern on a report by the UN which calls for the bloc of highly developed countries to spearhead the campaign to contain the rapidly worsening global warming conditions, the report from CNBC said.
The EU has since held back a bit from their pledge in emission reduction based on the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Germany's Compromise
A lot of environmental activities point out on Germany's relatively softer stance on the issue in relation to its bustling auto industry. This is despite the fact that the powerful nation has been marred with different scandals involving its auto market. In 2015, for example, Volkswagen admitted to having used a software to tweak its emission tests on more than 10 million diesel vehicles.
On its defense, Berlin reiterated that if the initial high targets are to be followed, it would inevitably affect the auto exports and thereby threaten thousands of jobs in the country.
