The European Commission sets more stringent limits for CO2 in cars

The European Commission (EC) presented today a legislative proposal to establish stricter limits to the polluting emissions of vehicles, with which it also aspires to convert to the European Union in the world benchmark in electric vehicles, against the strength of the United States and China.

Brussels, Nov 8 (EFE). - The European Commission (EC) presented today a legislative proposal to establish stricter limits to the polluting emissions of vehicles, with which It also aims to make the European Union the world leader in electric vehicles, in the face of the strength of the United States and China.

"The car was invented in Europe and I believe that it should also reinvent itself here, "said the vice president of the European Commission for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic, during the presentation of the initiative, coinciding with the COP23 climate summit in Bonn (Germany).

The European Commission's plan, which must now be negotiated with the European Parliament and the European Council, representing the countries, sets several axes of action to contribute, from transport, to the objective of fulfilling the commitment adopted by the European Union (EU) in the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce its polluting emissions by 40% by 2030.

Two years after the "Dieselgate" scandal, the first point of the new Brussels proposal focuses on lowering the CO2 maximums that they will be able to emit the vehicles in 2025 and 2030.

In the first horizon, the manufacturers will have to reduce their polluting emissions by 15% (up to 80 grams of CO2 per kilometer compared to the current 95) and the second set the bar 30% lower, in 66.5 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled.

"We let manufacturers decide which technologies to apply to achieve the objectives, "said the European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, Miguel Arias Cañete, who indicated that the limit for 2015 will serve to start investments and the 2030 to provide "stability".

The European Commission, according to the initial proposal, will fine manufacturers that do not comply and will consider "clean vehicles" - electric or hybrids- to those that emit between 0 and 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer, although with different intermediate sections.

In addition to improving the efficiency of fueled vehicles fossils, the first point leads to the second axis of the community proposal: the electric vehicle.

"Europe is not on the right track," said Cañete, who recalled that the EU has reduced its global emissions by 23% since 1990, but those relating to transport have increased by 20%, and sales of electric vehicles in the EU do not reach 1% of the total.

To boost the electric vehicle, the European Commission will offer up to 800 million euros to reinforce the number of electric chargers deployed, and another 200 million euros euros of aid in R & D for manufacturers that meet the CO2 reduction objectives mentioned above.

National administrations of EU member states buy or rent more electric vehicles and collect in their public tenders the EC spirit of driving clean vehicles.

"What comes before, the car or the charger? It will encourage manufacturers to try that the number of electric vehicles that they place on the market in 2025 is, on average, 15% of the total fleet, and 30% in 2030.

The Commission does not intend to sanction those who do not reach that goal, but it will reward those who do so with soft loans.

The Transport Eurcomisaria, Violeta Bulc said that the legislative package as a whole includes "measures urgently required" while the Commissioner for Industry, Elzbieta Biezkowska, stressed that it is a tool for help the industry itself in the global market.

"It's for your competitiveness, for your future, for your exports," he said.

The legislative package will be carried out would save around 6,000 billion euros a year on average and provide 70,000 jobs in the EU, according to the calculations of the European Commission.