What is at stake in this consultation is the future of the automotive industry and the related value chains in Europe that currently employ all together 14 million workers.
In the context of the European Green Deal, the EU has a decided to revise its 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target from at least - 40% to at least - 55%. This revision is deemed necessary to allow the EU to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, as well as to be in line with the Paris Agreement objectives. IndustriAll European Trade Union supports the objective of building a just transition to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Last week, industriAll Europe set out its concrete proposals in response to a public consultation on what this means for Europe’s automotive sector and its value chain.
As a result, EU climate legislation will be reviewed on the basis of a comprehensive set of proposals expected from the European Commission by June 2021. The transport sector is among the priorities of the EU Green Deal with the general objective to deliver a 90% reduction of transport greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Emissions related to transport are responsible for 27% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the EU-27+UK, and road transport represents more than 70% of transport emissions within the EU-27+UK. According to official data, emissions from road transport were 26.8 % higher in 2018 than they were in 1990 . As a result, the European Commission has announced a series of measures to tackle these emissions, including a revision of the Regulation setting CO2 standards for cars and vans*.
For industriAll Europe, the bedrock of the EU approach to decarbonise the automotive sector must be a sound and comprehensive industrial strategy to transform the sector through investment and innovation, while providing the necessary support of the workforce during the transition.
Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s Deputy General Secretary, stated:
“What is at stake in this consultation is the future of the automotive industry and the related value chains in Europe that currently employ all together 14 million workers. Those men and women must have their say in the conversation. In order to manage the challenging transitions underway, strong and transparent industrial relations ensuring the close involvement of workers and their unions will be crucial.”
*See the full list of initiatives concerning transport
IndustriAll Europe submission to the European consultation on the revision of CO2 emission standards for passenger cars: EN
Contact: Andrea Husen-Bradley (press and communication), Benjamin Denis (senior policy adviser)