EPP seeks to influence EU's 2035 car CO2 phase-out policy

The EPP, which has the largest group of lawmakers in the European parliament has sought to impose pressure by seeking to alter the already planned phase out of CO2-emitting cars by 2035 as proposed by the bloc. After winning 188 out of 720 seats in the most recent European Parliament elections, the EPP will convene in Portugal this week to establish official goals for the next five-year term.

This plan goes against EU's existing policy where it aims at prohibiting the sale of new cars and vans that use gasoline and diesel from 2035 onward. In addition, the draft document shows that the group plans to revise the rules on CO2 emission reduction for new cars and vans to make provisions for the use of other zero emission fuels beyond 2035.

Pursuant to the pressure from mainly Germany, the European Commission has signaled indicating intentions to develop legal regimes that will enable the continued sale of new vehicles with “e-fuels” after 2035, so long as they are net-CO2 neutral.

The EPP’s draft document doesn’t list specific changes it would like to see in the car CO2 policy, but it suggests a general goal of altering the ban on combustion engines while developing solutions with high-level combustion engine technology.

This could put Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who is also of the EPP in a difficult position. Should von der Leyen start her campaign for re-election already, she cannot rely solely on the EPP support as other parliamentary groups, especially socialists and democrats, insisted on keeping tough climate change measures without any compromise.

The propositions in the document, which, if implemented by the EPP, confirm its leadership in defining Europe’s environmental policy and can potentially contribute to the formation of the European Union’s stance on the relationship between environmentalism and industrial and economic concerns in the context of car manufacturing.