The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced that she will propose relaxing the timeline for the automotive industry’s emission reduction obligations, so that manufacturers will have three years (instead of one) to meet the set targets before facing heavy fines for non-compliance.
“There is a clear demand for greater flexibility in CO2 targets,” von der Leyen told the press in Brussels, after participating in a strategic dialogue day with the sector and informing them that she plans to present the details of her proposal on Wednesday, 5th March.
The changes that the head of the European Executive will propose also require approval from the Council (the governments) and the European Parliament, the two co-legislators, whom von der Leyen has urged to act urgently.
“It will only make sense if it is approved swiftly,” she warned.
Specifically, von der Leyen is requesting an amendment to extend the deadline for manufacturers to submit their commitments for evaluation from one to three years.
The urgency arises because the regulation sets a target for a 15% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2025 (compared to 2021 levels), and until now, Brussels had argued that no extensions were needed, as the industry had known the timeline since it was agreed in 2019.
In this context, von der Leyen stated that it is “crucial” to maintain “balance” and respect “predictability and fairness” for manufacturers who are “doing their duty” and are already on the path set out.
“This means we have to stick to the agreed targets,” said the German conservative to explain that the targets will not be changed, even though manufacturers will be given more time to avoid penalties.
She argued that the EU must “listen” to those who “call for more pragmatism in these difficult times” and for technological neutrality, “especially concerning the 2025 targets and sanctions in cases of non-compliance.”
Von der Leyen is proposing a specific amendment to the regulation so that “the targets will remain the same, they must be met,” but “more flexibility and clarity will be given to the industry.”
She also stated that the work for the 2035 review would be accelerated.
Specifically, the regulation sets that, between 2025 and 2029, cars must emit no more than 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometre (down from 115.1 gCO2/km in 2020-2024), and vans must emit 153.9 gCO2/km, figures that must be reduced by half in 2030 to achieve zero emissions by 2035.
ALLIANCE TO BOOST EUROPEAN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Another key element of the action plan that von der Leyen’s Executive will present on Wednesday is the need to boost European autonomous vehicles, recognising that global competition in this sector is “fierce” and the EU must “act big and be big.”
“We need to get autonomous vehicles onto European roads faster,” she argued.
“Size matters in this issue more than ever before, which is why we agreed to launch and support an industry alliance,” von der Leyen announced to the press, detailing that the goal is for companies to “share resources.”
“They will develop shared software, chips, and autonomous driving technology,” said the President of the Commission, also pointing out that Brussels will work to “redefine” testing and deployment rules.
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Von der Leyen also discussed with the industry the need to make the European automotive supply chain “stronger and more resilient,” and in this context, she announced that the European Executive will “explore direct support for European battery manufacturers” and gradually introduce requirements for battery components, as well as reducing bureaucracy through regulatory simplifications.
“While our production is being scaled up, we see that imported batteries are cheaper. We cannot allow electric vehicles to become more expensive, but we also cannot afford to create new dependencies,” the German politician argued in defence of the new proposals.
Top speakers participate in the “Storage, Renewable and Electric Vehicles Integration Forum”
