European parliament to debate future CO2 proposals this week

The debate should see a significant step towards the framing of the EU's future legislation on passenger car emissions.

The European parliament will this week debate the latest proposals from the European Commission on the next stage of the region's legislative programme, which is aimed at reducing passenger car emissions, according to a Reuters report. The first stage of the EU's CO2 reduction legislation has already been imposed, with manufacturers being compelled between 2012 and 2016 to reduce passenger car emissions to 130 g/km or face fines. However a more stringent second stage of regulations is being proposed, which will reduce the target to 95 g/km by 2020. There are opposing factions within the European Parliament that will debate the proposals this week, with a number of pro-OEM German MEPs looking to water down the proposals to make life easier for the German premium OEMs, which build and sell a disproportionately higher number of larger and heavier models, such as full-sized sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and large sedans, which have higher emission levels than the smaller segment vehicles manufactured and sold by rival European OEMs. The German OEMs are keen to mitigate the proposed legislative structure, and particularly the structure of fines that will be levied on higher emitting vehicles, as these models are extremely profitable for the German premium OEMs.