EU and Car Makers At Odds Over CO2 Emissions
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 01.31.07
The European Commission and German car makers are at odds about a proposed carbon dioxide emissions target. The Commission wants carmakers to cut their vehicles’ CO2 emission to an average of 120 grams per kilometer by 2012. Carmakers say they support the idea, but site already having trouble achieving the voluntary target of 140 g/km. According to the carmaker’s analysis, imposing the 120 g/km target is likely to make European industry unviable “[resulting] directly in the outflow of numerous jobs at car producers as well as in the suppler industry.”
In a letter that was sent to the Commission earlier this week, chief executives for Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and BMW described the EU’s proposed carbon dioxide emissions target as “a massive industrial policy intervention that will burden the entire European automobile industry, [and] the German [industry] in particular.” Heads of the European units of General Motors and Ford also signed the letter.
A Commission spokesperson, Johannes Laitenberger, rejected the carmaker claims saying that the best way to preserve jobs was to embrace and anticipate change rather than resist it. “We have made clear there is a need for legislation to meet the target set by the Commission and the car industry of 120 g/km by 2010,” Laitenberger told Reuters.
Should European carmakers need proof that this is actually the case a quick look at the dismal financial performance of the US automakers should set them on track. Whether or not European carmakers will buckle down and get with the program remains to be seen. :: Financial Times
FT reports this morning that VW has cancelled production of it's most efficient small car because of poor sales. Same for other makers. Quite a dilemma.
if the EU wants to make car manufacturers improve the emissions of their fleets, they should target the product, not the producers.
If they mandate that any cars sold into the EU meet emissions standards, then it won't hurt european manufacturers, it will only hurt automakers that don't comply.
Surely by the time we get to 2012 there will be a massive global market for ultra efficient, low emission cars and the EU manufacturers will be perfectly placed to cater for this. Citing an inability to achieve 140g/km is not a reason to give up on this 120g/km regulation. The reason they didn't make 140g is because it was voluntary and not mandated so they didn't try very hard. The car manufacturers need to be set a challenge and then they need to rise to it.
"Surely by the time we get to 2012 there will be a massive global market for ultra efficient, low emission cars"
Five years ago, I remember someone saying more or less what you said, scatter.
No doubt five years before that, people were saying it.
Enforce a reducing cap on the amount of carbon we can produce and we'll all be on the pig's back.
Half of the global car exhaust is produced by the US, even though Americans only account for 5% of the world population. Why isn't the US government enforcing similar restrictions? Is there any reason why the average American needs to own such a giant vehicle? Its unbelievable that such an advanced country doesn't have any regard for what they're doing to the world climate. Wake up to yourselves! With your so called freedom comes enormous responsibility.