MEPs to give counter-offer on car CO2

Expanding the ‘supercredit’ scheme or phasing in the penalties for non-compliance have been floated as a compromise.

Negotiators from the European Parliament have rejected a compromise proposal from Lithuania, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union Council of Ministers, to phase-in new car CO2 limits for 2020 over two years.  

Matthias Groote, chairman of the Parliament’s environment committee, told the Lithuanians that such a phase-in, designed by Germany, could not pass a vote in the Parliament. The centre-right EPP and ECR groups support the delay, but the rest of the groups are opposed.  

MEP negotiators from all political groups met yesterday (12 November) to devise a counter-offer. They decided to offer two possibilities: expanding the ‘supercredit’ scheme, which eases the target by allowing electric vehicles to count more towards the average emissions of a fleet, and/or phasing in the penalties for non-compliance.

Germany is blocking ratification of a previous deal reached in June between MEPs and the Irish government, which at the time held the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers. Germany wants a four-year phase-in to the new 95grams CO2 per kilometre (g/km) limit that was supposed to come into effect in 2020. Germany has also been pushing for an expansion of the supercredits scheme.

A change that only expands the supercredit regime would meet fierce resistance from Italy and France, which specialise in smaller, lighter cars and would therefore not benefit as much as the German auto industry, whose heavier cars can be offset be electric vehicles.  

The MEPs will meet next week in Strasbourg, and they will meet representatives of the Lithuanian presidency on 26 November. It is hoped a deal can be reached before the Parliament plenary session starting on 9 December.

Last week the European Commission presented its calculation of the impact that the Lithuanian proposal would have on emissions and fuel costs. The proposal would result in an additional 90-150 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and would lead to additional fuel costs for consumers of between €52 and €90 billion, the Commission said.

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