France urges EU to slow climate change car rules

The Associated Press
Published: September 30, 2008

BRUSSELS, Belgium: France is asking European Union governments to give car makers far more time to adapt to new limits on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a document seen by the AP on Tuesday.
France is suggesting car makers should not have to adhere to rules limiting average carbon dioxide emissions from all new cars until 2015 — three years later than EU regulators had first proposed.
That would ease the pressure on German auto manufacturers such as Volkswagen AG and BMW AG, which tend to make heavier cars that pollute more. A strict target would force them to change the kinds of cars they make — and they say that could make them lose market share and cut jobs.
Worried that carbon dioxide emissions from road transport are rising, the EU wants to set goals for each car maker to sell more low-carbon models — or face fines if they don't. This forms part of its strategy to slash Europe's CO2 emissions by a fifth by 2020 to limit climate change.
France currently leads talks between EU nations, and the French draft rules will form the basis of negotiations between EU environment ministers next month.

The draft rules are suggesting that only 60 percent of car sales would need to meet a target for average emissions of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer in 2012, increasing gradually until 2015.
The current EU average is 158 grams of CO2 per kilometer so there is still a long way to go.
France would also set a longer-term goal for 2020 with a tighter target of between 95 to 110 grams, saying this was needed to give car makers "the appropriate planning security to bring forward the necessary investments in new technology."
France wants to give car makers extra credit if they use innovative ways to produce cleaner cars and or sell selling electric and other very low emission vehicles. It also wants more leeway for companies that sell few cars
And it creates a complex formula of financial penalties for companies that miss the target that start off low but rise sharply by 2015.
Environmental campaigners Greenpeace were unimpressed, saying the proposal meant "business as usual for car manufacturers, with European citizens continuing to bear the burden of high fuel consumption and foreign oil addiction for years to come."
EU governments and lawmakers at the European Parliament are currently debating the rules separately but both must compromise before a target can become law.
The Parliament also appears divided on how soon car maker should curb emissions but it will have to vote for its final decision next month.