| By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - New European Union emissions rules for vehicles have been put on hold or are being delayed, EU sources and campaigners said, citing pressure from the hard pressed auto industry. The downgrading of green priorities is another example of policy falling victim to industry arguments against environmental regulation, a trend marked on Monday by concessions to airlines. A plan published last week to prop up the European auto sector made no mention of carbon regulations for heavy goods vehicles or carbon dioxide labeling to guide consumer choice, which had been flagged previously. "It looks like they will be dropped again," one EU source said, asking not to be identified. An October draft seen by Reuters of the autos action plan, intended to make the industry competitive, innovative and sustainable, showed a section on tackling heavy goods vehicles' emissions and carbon dioxide labeling was crossed out. Labeling on a vehicle's CO2 emissions and a strategy for reducing truck emissions are also missing so far from the European Commission's 2013 published work programme. The Commission was not immediately available for further comment. Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard had vowed at the start of her term in office in 2010 to tackle standards she saw as too lax and she pressed ahead with proposals to tighten 2020 vehicle emissions targets published in June. Other measures have slipped down the agenda. The 2020 targets were expected to be supplemented this year with a policy document on how to follow them up. That step is not now expected until the first part of next year, an EU source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The delay has a knock-on effect, by pushing back subsequent debate on more ambitious targets for further in the future, the sources said. TOO EARLY Some sections of industry say regulatory certainty is crucial to business planning. Others have pressed for delay. Daimler AG said it was too early to set goals beyond 2020 because it was unclear how big a role electric vehicles would play in cutting carbon. Continued... |