EU ministers split on auto emission curbs

EU ministers battled Tuesday over the extent of emission cuts to be imposed on carmakers, in the wake of a warning by UN experts on the dangers of global warming.

Auto-making power Germany is leading a fierce resistance to a compromise plan tabled by Austria, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. The Austrain plan would see a 35 percent CO2 reduction for new cars by 2030 – nine years later than the 2021 date in current plans.

German opposition is backed by eastern European member states – while Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Nordic states are pushing for more ambitious reductions.

Austria’s proposal is greater than the target of 30 percent suggested by the European Commission, the EU executive, but it remains well below the 40 percent cut advocated by the European Parliament in a vote last week.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze, a social democrat, said that she would have liked to be able to support a more ambitious cut on behalf of Berlin, particularly after the alarm signal sent by IPCC experts.

But she admitted that her coalition partner the CDU, the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, was pushing the tougher line, which she would defend at the Luxembourg meeting.

Germany – home to Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW – is worried that if targets are set too high it would hurt exports and threaten jobs. (AFP)

In this file photo, a Comcast sign is seen in Miami,Florida. US cable giant Comcast on Oct 9 said it is the majority shareholder of pan-European TV satellite group Sky after purchasing 21st Century Fox’s 39-percent holdingin the group. (AFP)