Members of the European Parliament (EP) and EU ministers agreed on a higher reduced emissions target of 37.5 percent compared to the European Commission’s proposed 30 percent for EU fleet-wide emissions for new cars by 2030, the EP announced Wednesday.
MEPs approved the already informally agreed plans on Wednesday to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from cars and vans by 2030. The legislation also set a CO2 reduction target of 31 percent for new vans by 2030, according to the EP statement.
"We achieved this legislation, despite fierce opposition from the car industry and certain member states, which refused to acknowledge the opportunities that stem from a more ambitious target,” EP rapporteur Miriam Dalli was quoted as saying. The legislation was adopted with 521 votes to 63 and 34 abstentions, according to the EP, which now requires a final adoption by the Council before publication in the Official Journal.
The EP noted that transport is the only sector in the EU that did not record any significant decline in GHG emissions since 1990. The EP cited figures from the European Environment Agency that showed that of all means of transport in the EU, road transport generated the largest share of GHG emissions with 72.9 percent in 2016, adding that it is also responsible for around 20 percent of the EU’s total GHG emissions.
(Anadolu Agency)
