The German vehicle manufacturers trade association the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA), and the main German automotive industry trade union, IG Metall, have warned the European Union that tough CO2 targets could endanger jobs.
VDA president, Matthias Wissmann, und IG Metall leader, Berthold Huber, have written a joint letter to the European Parliament, according to a report in the Bild newspaper. In it they say that European Commission proposals to fine companies that do not meet CO2 emission requirements would result in job losses and that new CO2 targets should be introduced gradually.
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The European Parliament’s industry committee is already largely supporting German automotive industry demands for weaker CO2 emission requirements than those put forward by the European Commission.
Where the European Commission has proposed that manufacturers should emit on average no more than 120g/km CO2 by 2012, the industry committee is recommending that manufacturers are given a further three years, until 2012 to meet the requirement fully. It has proposed that “in 2012 a quarter of a manufacturer’s new cars, in 2013 half, in 2014 three-quarters and in 2015 all of them would have to achieve the target of 120g CO2/km, including the complementary measures.”
Average emissions of cars sold in Europe at the moment is around 160g/km
