European Parliament approves weakening of 2025 climate target for carmakers

Berlin, 8 May. Today, the European Parliament voted in favor of an amendment that weakens the 2025 climate target for new cars and vans under the EU’s CO₂ emissions regulation. The decision threatens to delay progress on Europe’s transition to clean transportation.  

Following Tuesday’s vote to fast-track the proposal, the Parliament approved the European Commission’s proposal with 458 votes in favor, 101 against, and 14 abstentions. This change would allow automakers to meet the compliance targets by averaging their performance over a 3-year period (2025 to 2027) instead of having to meet them in 2025.

Peter Mock, ICCT Europe Director, said: “This flexibility represents a setback for Europe’s clean transport strategy. Some manufacturers might benefit from a short-term relief to adjust their electric vehicle portfolios, but it comes at the cost of delaying broader market access to affordable electric cars. At this critical stage of the transition, Europe cannot afford to slow momentum toward electrification. Further delays risk undermining the EU’s industrial leadership and will have long-lasting consequences for both emissions reductions and competitiveness.” 

Before this amendment, starting this year, a 15% more stringent target was expected to apply for the 2025 to 2029 period. However, under the approved averaging mechanism, it is to be expected that manufacturers will exceed their 2025 CO₂ targets and compensate in 2026 or even only in 2027. This will result in more combustion engine vehicles for a longer period and fewer electric vehicles, and substantial excess emissions. 

ICCT estimates that these excess emissions can range from 26 to 51 megatons of additional CO2. For comparison, this is equivalent roughly to the entire annual CO₂ emissions of a country the size of Denmark or Greece.  

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Media contact
Susana Irles, communications@theicct.org

Press statement link: https://theicct.org/pr-european-parliament-approves-weakening-2025-climate-target-carmakers/

About the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) 
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is an independent nonprofit research organization founded to provide exceptional, objective, timely research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators. Our work empowers policymakers and others worldwide to improve the environmental performance of road, marine, and air transportation to benefit public health and mitigate climate change. We began collaborating and working as a group of like-minded policymakers and technical experts, formalizing our status as a mission-driven non-governmental organization in 2005.

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