German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on the European Commission to waive penalties for car manufacturers that fail to meet the CO2 fleet targets by 2025, saying that there should be no fines in the European Union (EU) for companies that do not comply with carbon emission limits.
“The money must remain in the companies for the modernisation of their own industry, their own company,” he told reporters. Earlier on Monday, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said he was open to temporarily suspending fines due next year if carmakers could offset their CO2 limits by exceeding their targets in 2026 and 2027.
“On the fleet limits, my position is as follows: We are sticking to the fleet limits and are being pragmatic about the transition,” Habeck said after a meeting with Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso in Berlin. He said this would give companies flexibility and an incentive to make further progress in climate protection without forcing them to pay billions in fines.
According to the EU’s regulations, average emissions of registered new cars in 2025 must be 15% lower than in 2021, but a drop in EV sales have made achieving this target more difficult.
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