New study says EU must stick to tough car limits or sacrifice 2020 aims
Thu 18 October 2007
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A new study by German researchers commissioned by the Greens/European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament concludes that only with strict limit values for passenger cars will the EU be able to meet its overall CO2 reduction target. It also argues that the so-called ‘integrated approach’, being promoted by the car industry, cannot work.
The study, by Albert Schmidt and CPC-Berlin, aims to show how to tackle the problem of CO2 emissions from cars. The study says that only with a 120 g/km limit for 2012 and strong follow-up limits for 2020, will the necessary emissions reductions from passenger cars be achieved to enable the EU to meet its overall 2020 emissions targets.
The report says that the EU will have to reduce its overall emissions by around 830 million tonnes if it is to meet its base target of a 20% reduction by 2020. Given passenger cars already account for around 12% of overall EU CO2 emissions, this means the sector will have to reduce its CO2 emissions by 80-100 million tonnes. The limit values now being proposed by car makers and by the Commission, it says, would fall far short of delivering this reduction.
The study also shows how the necessary reductions can be achieved using existing technology and claims to "dispel the myth of the integrated approach" to emissions reductions which is says is being propagated by the automobile industry.
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