The EU has agreed a deal on the CO2 emissions from cars, which has left green organisations and MEPs disappointed at its lack of ambition, and fearing for the other climate related policies currently under consideration for the energy and climate change package. This represents the first agreement within the context of finalising a deal on the energy and climate change package, and comes a year after the European Commission originally proposed binding targets in December 2007.

The compromise was reached between EU lawmakers in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on 1 December and will be passed into law provided it is approved by the Parliament’s political groups and EU ambassadors.

Talks have been ongoing with trialogue discussions ultimately leading to a weakened compromise of the Commission’s original proposal (see link to earlier article here). The deal will see carbon emission reductions phased in between 2012-15, with 65% of new cars being limited to 120g/km of CO2 in 2012, rising to 75% in 2013, 80% in 2014 and full compliance required by 2015. In the longer term carmakers will have to reduce their emissions to 95g/km by 2020.

In order to achieve these targets, carmakers will be required to reach the 130g/km mark through improvements in vehicle motor technology, with the last 10g/km to be attained through other technology improvements such as improved tyres or increased use of biofuels.

The fines meanwhile, which have been put forward to tackle manufacturers who do not adhere to targets, have also seen significant changes. Rather than the fines suggested by the Commission of €25 per gram exceeded in 2012 rising to €95 by 2015, the compromise will see a €5 fine for the first gram of CO2 exceeded, €15 for the second, €25 for third and €95 for the fourth, with the fine structure remaining constant in the period 2012-18.

Guido Sacconi, the Italian MEP responsible for drafting the directive in Parliament, was pleased with the result, calling it ‘very satisfactory’, given the constraints of negotiations.

The outcome has been met with disappointment by Greens though, who had been hoping for a more comprehensive deal with tougher targets and penalties. Shadow rapporteur of the directive and Green MEP Rebecca Harms has labelled it ‘an act of poor wizardry disguising business as usual as climate policy’, and was concerned that it marked ‘the first casualty of the scaled back ambition on the EU climate package’.

Meanwhile environmental NGO Transport and Environment (T&E) has denounced the fact that the agreement contained concessions for all Member States who have a large and influential car industry, saying that ‘the French presidency was in the end responsible for giving away loopholes to every country that asked’. GLOBE EU member and ALDE MEP Chris Davies has also expressed his disappointment at the outcome, pointing out that the car industry in Japan and the US was now better placed for ‘environmental innovation’.