EU climate chief rejects calls to weaken car CO2 rules amid industry pressure
EU climate chief rejects calls to weaken car CO2 rules amid industry pressure
Asian automakers are hoping for help from the European commission to pare back its car CO2 emissions policies, which have come under mounting pressure from carmakers, national governments, and the European People's Party (EPP), the European Parliament's largest political group. Firmly opposed to rollbacks, climate policy chief Wopke Hoekstra said Thursday.
"No. Asked at an industry event in Brussels if the Europeans would change their regulations, the answer is no," Hoekstra told Reuters in an interview.
Europe's auto sector is in crisis, with electric vehicle (EV) demand lagging, intense competition from Chinese manufacturers and concerns for thousands of jobs, EPP said this week in launching a campaign to ease CO2 rules. The efforts join calls from industry groups and officials for regulatory relief.
Relief for automakers from meeting CO2 limits of 2025, which many manufacturers stand to fail, is the first of the EPP’s demands. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) says such penalties could amount to up to €15 billion (USD 15.8 billion), and it warns they could undermined EV investment.
But despite these concerns, the European Commission has said that such strong emissions rules are necessary to deliver legal climate obligations and bring certainty to investors.
The fears of financial penalties were dismissed by Hoekstra, who noted that manufacturers had already managed to offset fines under past targets. Volkswagen, for instance, narrowly surpassed limits in 2020 and thus avoided steep penalties.
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The EPP has presented the new regulations with a flexible approach: The CO2limits would have a three-year compliance window. That would allow automakers to get around missing next years targets without the threat of fines in the immediate but by making it up by 2027.
But the car sector in Europe faces big challenges, from lacklustre EV sales to stiff competition from Chinese rivals. But Hoekstra's stance represents the EU's determination to cling to its climate agenda at odds with industrial competitiveness.
The debate over CO2 regulations highlights a broader struggle between achieving green objectives and addressing economic realities in Europe’s automotive industry.
