FACTBOX - Reaction to EU Proposals for Car CO2 Output
Date: 09-Feb-07
Country: INTERNATIONAL
Here is how manufacturers, environmentalists and government officials saw the news:
EUROPEAN CARMAKERS ASSOCIATION ACEA
The proposals are unbalanced and damaging to the European economy in terms of wealth, employment and growth potential
JOS DINGS, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP TRANSPORT & ENVIRONMENT
Today's announcement finally recognises, ten years late, that regulation is needed on CO2 emissions just as it is on safety and other forms of air pollution from cars
GERMAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ULRICH WILHELM
We welcome the fact that the European Commission is sticking to its goal of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer. This goal has never been questioned by the Chancellor (Angela Merkel) nor by the government. We also welcome the fact that the goal of 120 grams per kilometre is integrated together with biofuels.
PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN CEO CHRISTIAN STREIFF
The move to the ecological car of the future is a key pillar of PSA's future...We have an advantage in low-CO2-emission cars. We will do everything we can to keep that advantage
GREENS PARTY TRANSPORT EXPERT MICHAEL CRAMER
Today's watered-down compromise on European emission standards means the German auto industry has pushed through its demands via intense lobbying. German corporate chiefs are still blocking Europe's climate policy...but the success today of the German auto lobby will turn out to be a pyrrhic victory
GERMAN CARMAKERS ASSOCIATION VDA PRESIDENT BERND GOTTSCHALK
The announced target proposals are extremely demanding, require massive investments and confront all car manufacturers with enormous and extremely difficult challenges
GERMAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER SIGMAR GABRIEL
This is a significant technological challenge that the European automotive industry has to face. At the same time, it should recognise that these guidelines are not a job killer. On the contrary, they help secure (automakers') long-term international competitiveness