Car makers should be punished for polluting, says Barroso

European commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has suggested that car manufacturers who in the future make cars that breach EU pollution thresholds should be punished - writes Honor Mahony for EUobserver.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper, Mr Barroso said that the EU’s planned system of requiring new cars from 2012 to reduce emissions to an average of 120 grammes of carbon dixoide per kilometre would not be very credible if there was no system to enforce it.

“[Car manufacturers] should pay a sort of compensation,” said Mr Barroso.

He also linked being active on environment protection with economic growth.
“We are standing before the beginning of a new industrial revolution. If we are among the first to shift to environmentally friendly technology, we will have a competitive advantage.”

The commission is expected to unveil its legislative proposals on how to enforce 120 g/km threshold next month.  At the moment cars emit an average of 160 grammes of CO2 per kilometre.

Ever since it announced its intention to legislate in this area earlier this year, the car industry - particularly in Germany, home to makers of big luxury vehicles - has been strongly lobbying the commission.

German manufacturers want a staggered approach to the system allowing bigger cars to pollute more than small ones. But this has been strongly rejected by France, home to Peugeot and Renault, who say such a system would be unfair.

Earlier this month, a report by Transport and Environment, a green lobby group, showed a widening pollution gap between car manufacturers in the two countries.

During the Bild interview, Mr Barroso also touched upon another hot transport topic in Germany - the speed limit on the country’s motorways. He appeared to sympathise with efforts by the socialists, in government with the Christian Democrats, to introduce a speed limit of 130km/h on the roads. “Cars that are bound by a maximum speed limit emit less greenhouse gases,” he said.