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| Brussels presses for greener fuel | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The European Commission has announced plans to force energy companies to produce greener fuels. | The European Commission has announced plans to force energy companies to produce greener fuels. |
| It says it will propose amendments to a directive on fuel quality, which will require a 10% cut in the CO2 released during production and use of the fuel. | It says it will propose amendments to a directive on fuel quality, which will require a 10% cut in the CO2 released during production and use of the fuel. |
| The changes would make companies use more biofuel, and develop greener biofuels where the production process results in lower CO2 emissions. | The changes would make companies use more biofuel, and develop greener biofuels where the production process results in lower CO2 emissions. |
| The commission says its plan would save 100m tonnes of CO2 a year by 2020. | The commission says its plan would save 100m tonnes of CO2 a year by 2020. |
| The announcement comes as commissioners argue over another proposal which would force carmakers to drastically increase the fuel efficiency of the average car sold in Europe. | |
| Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has been pressing for binding legislation to ensure that new cars produce a maximum of 120g (0.2 lb) of CO2 per kilometre by 2012, compared to 162g on average in 2005. | |
| Increased costs | |
| The plans to improve fuel quality and cut car emissions are both regarded as key steps towards cutting down on emissions from the transport sector, which threatens to derail EU plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. | |
| This is one of the most important measures in the series ofnew initiatives the commission needs to take to step up thefight against global climate change Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas EU stumbles on low-carbon road Both announcements were due to have been made simultaneously last week, but were postponed because of the disagreements within the commission. | |
| Carmakers and fuel manufacturers have reported that both proposals would increase costs for consumers. | |
| Both measures would also have to be approved by the European parliament and by member states before they would become law. | |
| German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped into the row on Tuesday, saying that Germany would fight against any legislation that forced all car makers to reach the same emissions target, regardless of the type of car they produced. | |
| Carbon savings | |
| The proposed amendment to the fuel quality directive would oblige manufacturers to ensure an annual 1% cut in the emissions produced during the production and use of fuel between 2011 and 2020. | |
| The commission says that would result in an overall saving of 500m tonnes of CO2 by 2020, and 100m tonnes thereafter. | |
| "This is one of the most important measures in the series ofnew initiatives the commission needs to take to step up thefight against global climate change," Mr Dimas said in a statement. | |
| "It is a concrete test of our political commitment toleadership on climate policy and our capacity to translatepolitical priorities into concrete measures." |