European Parliament relaxes CO2 emissions targets for cars and vans

World World: The European Parliament on Tuesday approved a proposal to relax the European Union’s (EU) CO2 emissions targets, giving automakers more time to meet these targets and reducing potential fines.

European carmakers had warned that current targets, which are to be met this year, could face fines of up to 15 billion euros (about $17 billion) if not met. Meeting these targets requires more electric vehicle sales, while European manufacturers are lagging behind Chinese and US rivals in this area.

The European Commission proposed allowing automakers to meet targets based on their average emissions between 2025-2027, rather than meeting them only for this year. EU lawmakers voted in favor of approving the proposal early, while the final vote will take place on Thursday.