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Eight EU countries oppose tougher car pollution standards

2023-05-22T16:20:36.944Z

Highlights: Eight countries, including France and Italy, voiced their opposition to the tightening of car pollution standards in the EU. The EU recently announced the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, in favour of 100% electric vehicles. The aim is to reduce automotive CO2 emissions to zero to contribute to the continent's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. But the new standard is being challenged by the auto industry, which considers its environmental benefit limited compared to its cost. It wants to avoid additional investments in combustion engines that are doomed to disappear anyway.


In particular, France and Italy fear that manufacturers will curb their investments in electric cars.


Eight countries, including France and Italy, on Monday voiced their opposition to the tightening of car pollution standards in the EU proposed by Brussels, saying it risked curbing manufacturers' investment in electric vehicles.

The EU recently announced the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, in favour of 100% electric vehicles. The aim is to reduce automotive CO2 emissions to zero to contribute to the continent's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. On the pollution side, the European Commission presented in November its proposals for the new standard, called Euro 7, which should apply to all passenger cars from 2025 regardless of their engine, in order to reduce air pollution related to road transport responsible for 70,000 deaths each year in the EU.

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We oppose any new rules on exhaust gases (including new obligations on test conditions or new emission limits) for cars and light commercial vehicles," the opposing states, including France and Italy, which are home to a major automotive sector, wrote in a working document. "These new rules would hamper the necessary investment by industry in the transition to zero emissions," said the countries, which also include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. They also consider the 2025 deadline too close.

Germany, by far Europe's largest automotive powerhouse, did not sign the text, but it has repeatedly expressed concern about the impact of tougher standards on its companies. The coalition government is struggling to find a common line between Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens. According to the EU executive's calculations, the Euro 7 standard would notably reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles by 35% and buses and trucks by 56% by 2035, compared to the previous Euro 6 standard.

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"Reasonable and pragmatic"?

But the new standard is being challenged by the auto industry, which considers its environmental benefit limited compared to its cost. Faced with massive investments to develop their new electric range in the face of formidable competition from Tesla and Chinese manufacturers, it wants to avoid additional investments in combustion engines that are doomed to disappear anyway. The sector employs 13 million people in Europe.

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Many countries have joined Italy in asking the Commission to be reasonable and pragmatic" on the future Euro 7 standard, Italian Business Minister Adolfo Urso said on Monday, quoted by Italian media. The tightening proposed by the Commission was however considered insufficient by environmental defenders who already accused Brussels of giving in to the car lobby.

In particular, the Commission has proposed to change the conditions for testing the emission of gaseous pollutants of vehicles to bring them more into line with real driving conditions, but without changing the thresholds imposed on petrol cars and by lowering only slightly those of diesel vehicles.

However, these thresholds would be significantly reduced for heavy goods vehicles, another point disputed Monday by the eight signatory countries who consider these objectives "too ambitious". EU member states, which are very divided on the subject, must try to find a common position, before negotiations that promise to be very complicated with the European Parliament.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2023-05-22

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