Brussels, 27/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Despite the fraudulent practices of Volkswagen, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (known by its French acronym, ACEA) on Thursday 26 November stressed its determination to help to secure a positive result from COP 21, to open at the highest level in Paris on Monday 30 November.
What ACEA is hoping for is a global agreement that will help to drive down greenhouse gas emissions within a framework to guarantee fair competition conditions at global level and bolster the competitiveness of the industry.
Although ACEA wants fair conditions for all of the major emitting countries and for all industrial sectors in the world, it stresses that “only a level playing field between countries will allow the EU automotive industry to make the long-term investments that are necessary to tackle the climate change challenge”, said the secretary general of ACEA, Erik Jonnaert.
ACEA sees COP 21 as a “historic opportunity to establish a policy framework that allows Europe to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, while generating jobs and economic growth”.
The Association reiterates the commitment of the automotive industry to further reduce CO2 emissions both from vehicles (which, ACEA points out, have already been cut by 60% since 1965) and the production process (which has seen its emissions fall by 27.4% over the last decade, it stresses).
It reminds the negotiators that the EU has already succeeded in cutting its emissions by 43% compared to 1990 figures, despite growing by 4.6% over the same period. It also points out that the EU represents just 9% of global emissions, with China accounting for 25% in the United States for 11%.
ACEA reiterates that the European industry has already made a significant contribution to reducing the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and that last year, average emissions from private cars fell by 33.7% (123.4 grams of CO2 per km in 2014 compared to 186 g/km in 1995), “a record low”. Stressing that the Volkswagen scandal does not diminish the reality of the efforts made by the sector as a whole, ACEA has never commented on the fraudulent emissions tests of one of its members (see EUROPE 11395). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)