“Let’s not put all our eggs in one basket when setting new rules for electric cars. We have to deliver on emission reductions while ensuring that the economy can manage the social transition. Mandating a phase-out of combustion engines could put up to 500,000 jobs at risk in the automotive industry. Member States whose economies are heavily reliant on the car industry must get space and time to adjust and find solutions”, said Jens Gieseke MEP, EPP Group negotiator on the new rules for CO2 reduction for new cars and vans, ahead of today’s plenary debate and vote.
“The commitment is clear: we want to decarbonize the transport sector. With our ambitious proposals, nine out of ten new European cars will be electric from 2035. However, this will only shift emissions from one sector to the other. Not every electric car is clean. If we don’t manage to decarbonize electricity production or risk creating new dependencies on other countries, we need to be able to switch to other decarbonization technologies such as alternative fuels”, explained Gieseke.
The EPP Group supports the initial proposal for the 2030 reduction target of -55% for cars and -50% for vans. However, wants to leave room for maneuver by introducing a -90% reduction target for cars and vans by 2035. The EPP Group also proposed a voluntary crediting scheme for alternative fuels to support the uptake of alternative fuels in the automotive sector.
Source: EPP Group
