Negotiators from three major political groups in the European Parliament agreed on a draft to ease the EU’s proposed 2035 car-emissions target by letting automakers count low-carbon European steel toward part of their required emissions cuts, but the draft still needs political approval and negotiations with member states.
The draft sets a 95% emissions cut for new cars compared with 2021 levels. It gives manufacturers using qualifying low-carbon steel made in the EU a 7.5-percentage-point credit, lowering their required cut to 87.5%. The agreement was reached by negotiators from the centre-right European People’s Party, the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, and the liberal Renew group.
The draft would revise the European Commission’s proposal for a 90% emissions cut by 2035. That proposal already allowed the emissions left over to be made up for through measures such as low-carbon steel and alternative fuels. The three groups must still endorse the draft before it can become Parliament’s formal position.
Parliament and EU governments would then need to agree on a final text. The compromise proposes an 80% emissions cut for new vans by 2035. It keeps the proposed 2030 car target at 55%.
It lowers the van target from 40% to 35%. The draft would let automakers meet the 2030 targets based on their average results across 2029–2031. It could also classify cars running on renewable fuels as zero-emission vehicles.