EU lawmakers want to cut car emissions by 40 percent by 2030

The war on the harmless trace gas carbon dioxide is in full swing at the EU. The diesel scandal, which was about nitrogen oxides, seems strangely to have been used as an excuse to press for a more punishing policy towards CO2. But they appear to ignore the fact that even if electric car sales go up, this mainly transfers the supposed problem to fuel-burning power generations.

The European Parliament wants to cut CO2 emissions from new cars and vans by 40 percent by 2030 and will try to convince the European Union’s 28 nations to back the idea despite objections from the powerful car industry, reports Phys.org.

The proposed cut agreed on by the legislators Wednesday was a compromise between environmentalists who wanted tougher commitments and those who wanted to avoid too much damage to the auto industry.

The EU nations will discuss the measures further this month. Car producers in the EU are warning that tough cuts would cost manufacturing jobs.

Car emissions have become a big issue in Europe since Volkswagen’s scandal in September 2015 in which it admitted to rigging diesel engines to cheat on U.S. emissions tests. That led to a wide-ranging examination of all diesels—and the discovery that many of them emitted far more pollutants on the road than in testing. There was talk of banning older diesels from some cities, and of ending the subsidies for diesel fuel that helped propel sales.

Originally, the parliament’s environment committee had wanted a 45 percent cut but, pressured by the biggest political group, the EPP Christian Democrats, it reduce it to 40 percent. The EU’s executive Commission had argued for 30 percent.

EU environment ministers will discuss the issue at their meeting next Tuesday with a final decision not expected before December.

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