The Commission is in trouble over another case of not releasing information on a controversial subject. The European ombudsman has condemned officials for failing to comply with an order for it to publish correspondence with the German car maker Porsche over dealings Porsche had with Brussels over reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
The EU’s new climate change commissioner is promising an initiative on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from lorries, and says the existing agreement to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars could be tightened to provide greater incentives to car makers.
The conditions under which electric vehicles could play a significant role in reducing climate changing emissions from transport have been set out in a new study for T&E and two other environmental NGOs. It says the source of the power for electric cars is crucial to their potential to fight climate change.
A legal challenge against Berlin's 'environment zone' has failed. Eleven citizens and Germany's biggest car club ADAC had challenged the ruling that prevented the most polluting vehicles from driving in the designated zone. But in a written verdict published last month, the judges said the environment zone was 'reasonable' to secure the 'protection of the public's health from air pollution'. The judgement could prevent the Hannover environment zone from being abolished, which is being sought by the environment minister of Lower Saxony.
Visitors to the Brussels motor show last month could have been left with only one impression: the future is electric. As your special report on the future of cars noted (14-20 January), virtually every manufacturer exhibited a car powered by batteries.
The EU is in danger of wasting the potential for electric cars to cut greenhouse gas emissions. That's the main conclusion of a new report by T&E which warns that promoting electric cars in isolation will not only under-use the environmental benefits but could lead to more carbon dioxide emissions than if no electric cars were produced. The report makes three clear recommendations for changes to EU policy and thinking.
Editorial by Maarten van Biezen and Chris Nobel, The Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment (T&E member organisation)
The idea of basing motoring taxation on the distance a vehicle is driven – generally known these days as a 'kilometre charge' – is in principle a good one which environmental groups have advocated for years. But as recent developments in the Netherlands have shown, the road to good charging can often be a bumpy one.