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MEPs to vote on Council agreement for cleaner cars

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20140222PHT36703_originalMEPs debate an agreement with the Council on cutting CO2 emissions for new passenger cars by 2020 on 24 February and vote on it the following day. This is important as one fifth of all CO2 emissions in Europe comes from cars, while emissions from road transport increased by 26% between 1990 and 2008.

Reducing CO2 emissions

After tough negotiations MEPs and Council representatives agreed on a deal reducing CO2 emissions to an average of 95g/km for 95% of new cars in 2020. Today cars are allowed to emit 160gCO2/km. The deal was backed by the environment committee on 17 December 2013.

Thomas Ulmer, a German member of the EPP group who is in charge of steering the proposal through Parliament, said after the committee vote: "We fought for a good agreement, combining flexibility for manufacturers, protection for the environment and the best interests of consumers. This is a good deal for the three parties involved."

How it will be achieved

The proposal introduces an incentives system for producers to build cars that emit less emissions. If car-makers produce cars that emit below 50g/km, they can collect 'super-credits' every year until 2020 to 2022, giving those cars a more favourable weighing in the car-maker’s overall balance. If companies fail to meet the target, they have to pay for each gramme per kilometre (g/km) that is emitted above the limit. For car  manufacturers it is important to know which standards will be accepted in 2020 in order to develop the technology needed.

Next steps

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Before the agreement can enter into force it will have to be approved by MEPs during the plenary session as well as by the Council of Ministers.

About the photo

This article is illustrated by the picture Enjoy, taken by Stéphane Debrulle, from Belgium. Debrulle was the January winner of the European Parliament's Guest Photographer contest. During the coming months, Parliament will announce a different topic each month until the European elections in May.

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