EU Toughens CO2 Limits for Cars in Bid to Spur Electric Vehicles
EU Toughens CO2 Limits for Cars in Bid to Spur Electric Vehicles
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union tightened caps on carbon dioxide from cars in a bid to accelerate the development of electric vehicles.
The European Parliament set a 37.5 percent CO2-reduction target for 2030 compared with the 2021 limit. In a vote on Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, the assembly also fixed an interim CO2-cut goal for autos of 15 percent for 2025.
The endorsement removes the final political hurdle for the new emission curbs meant to step up the European fight against climate change. EU governments have already signaled support for the new CO2 limits after striking a deal in December with the 751-seat Parliament, making their final approval due on April 15 a formality.
About 15 million autos are sold each year in the EU, with cars accounting for more than a tenth of the bloc’s releases of CO2, the main greenhouse gas blamed for rising global temperatures. Electric vehicles in Europe have a market share of around 1.5 percent.
The EU’s current average caps on CO2 from cars are 130 grams a kilometer set for 2015 and 95 grams fixed for 2021.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Peter Chapman
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