MEPs expect a high-risk vote for climate and the future competitiveness of the European motor industry. In Strasbourg, on Wednesday 3 October, they will have to take a stance on the proposal for a regulation of November 2017 aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from the European fleet of new private cars and vans after 2021, as well as encouraging innovation and electro-mobility (see EUROPE 12106).
The day before the vote on this legislation of the “third mobility package”, it was not at all certain whether the most ambitious would win the day. The reason for this was the fact that the EPP and ECR Groups oppose objectives that are more ambitious than those proposed by the European Commission, mainly fearing the consequences that over-hasty transition towards electric vehicles will have on employment. This argument is vigorously rejected by the Greens (see EUROPE 12104). The EPP and ECR stress that assembly lines are not the same for diesel engines and electric engines – an argument that the ACEA highlighted on Monday on behalf of the European motor industry. “The more aggressive the CO2 reduction targets are, the more disruptive the socio-economic impacts will be”, warned Erik Jonnaert, the organisation’s secretary general.
All the other political groups are officially ready to support the position voted through by the EP committee on the environment (see EUROPE 12093). Nonetheless, on Wednesday, no one ventured to predict what the result will be. Everything depends on voting guidelines, without ruling out the fact that some delegations or MEPs may vote differently from the rest of their group, as is the case for all climate issues. At the time of going to press, the debate was beginning in plenary.
Other amendments on the table include those (70 in total) that take up the position of the leading parliamentary committee which, in particular, recommends a 20% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2025 not only for cars but also for vans, and a 45% reduction by 2030 compared to 2021 with zero emissions by 2040, as well as incentives for low or zero emission vehicles and for accompanying measures to ensure transition is economically and socially fair.
The main amendment of the right and the conservatives aims to stick with the 30% objective by 2030 as proposed by the Commission. Other amendments aim to introduce (Article 7) a CO2 correction factor (CCF) to most accurately assess the net CO2 emissions which contribute to climate change from vehicles using renewable fuels.
An S&D amendment aims to reintroduce a 40% reduction objective instead of 30% by 2030 compared with 2021, as a “fallback solution and compromise. I would agree on condition that one votes first of all on the text from the environment committee”, French MEP Christine Revault d’Allonnes-Bonnefoy told the press.
The ELDD Group submitted an amendment aimed at 50% instead of 30%.
Several S&D and ALDE amendments advocated carrying out, in 2023 rather than in 2024, a review of progress to measure the effectiveness of this future legislation given the European regulation on effort-sharing in sectors outside ETS (hence, transport).
The voting results will determine the level of difficulty of future negotiations with the Council whose delegations are also very divided upstream of the Environment Council of 9 October (see EUROPE 12106). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang and Marion Fontana)