Victory for BMW and Jaguar over climate change targets

Luxury car makers including Jaguar-Land Rover and BMW have wrung a major concession from Brussels over carbon emissions.

By David Millward, Transport Editor Last Updated: 1:45PM GMT 02 Dec 2008

A deal reached between Euro-MPs and the Council of Ministers has watered down the targets they will be expected to meet.
Under the proposals from the European Commission all car makers were told that they would have to bring the average emissions for all new cars down to 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar-Land Rover described such targets as unrealistic and claimed they were being set a stiffer hurdle than their mass market rivals.
The deal was the one glimmer of good news for the industry after months in which car makers have been forced to lay staff off and cut shifts.
Under the new agreement they have been given the option of cutting their emissions by 25 per cent of their 2007 levels by 2015 – six per cent more than the industry average.
At the same time the agreement has given mass car manufacturers a three year stay of execution before they are expected to meet the 130 gram target.
This must now be achieved by 2015, rather than 2012. But in a concession to the environmental lobby, a new ambitious 95 gram target for 2020.
In addition the penalties for failing to reach the new benchmarks have been stiffened.
Car makers who fail to reach the amended 2015 targets will be fined £80 per car for every gram of CO2 above this level.
The agreement comes after years of haggling with Germany in particular fighting hard to protect its manufacturers, who specialize in the "top end" of the market.
At the same time environmentalists have fiercely opposed any attempts to water down the climate change targets.
Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, described the agreement as protecting both the environment and the motor industry.
"This agreement represents a good deal for the environment and a good deal for UK business. It will drive fuel efficiency improvements in new cars, helping to tackle CO2 emissions and reducing running costs for drivers," he said.
"The challenging long term target for 2020 was a principle that the UK was amongst the first to call for earlier this year. This has potential to be the biggest CO2 saving measure in transport.
"At the same time it also takes account of the needs of UK manufacturers.
"It makes sure that smaller or niche manufacturers, who provide employment to thousands of people around the UK, play their part in reducing CO2 emissions but are not put out of business by targets they will just not be able to meet."
But the agreement was condemned by Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's senior transport campaigner.
"This is a depressing outcome on a vital piece of climate legislation - it's riddled with delays, loopholes and concessions.
"This was an opportunity to force the car industry to put its foot down and speed up progress in making smarter cars that use less fuel - but EU politicians have caved in to industry lobbying and allowed it to coast along at its own pace for a few more years.
"Along with other nations, the UK Government's key priority was to get a good deal for its own car industry - the interests of the planet and its people have clearly come a poor second."