EU not buckling to pressure over car CO2 rules, climate chief says

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission is not considering changing Europe's policies to cut CO2 emissions from cars, despite a push from the EU's biggest political group to weaken the laws, the bloc's climate policy chief told Reuters on Thursday.

The centre-right European People's Party - the European Parliament's biggest lawmaker group - launched a campaign this week to weaken the climate rules, adding to pressure on Brussels from automakers and national governments to urgently help Europe's ailing autos sector.

Asked whether he was now considering changing the car CO2 rules, European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said he was not.

"No. The answer is no," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in Brussels.

Hoekstra, like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is part of the EPP political group.

Europe's car sector is in turmoil, with thousands of jobs on the line as it struggles with weak demand, Chinese competition and lower than expected electric vehicle sales.

Brussels has said the climate rules are needed to meet Europe's legally-binding emissions goals, and they provide a predictable investment environment for European companies.

The main demand of the EPP is that automakers are given relief from 2025 CO2 limits, which many are expected to miss.

European automaker association ACEA has said the industry potentially faces 15 billion euros ($15.8 billion) of fines for failing to meet the 2025 targets, which it says would divert money from investments.

Hoekstra has previously played down such concerns, noting carmakers' far lower fines for missing 2020 EU emissions targets. Volkswagen then faced penalties exceeding 100 million euros.

The EPP suggests using a three-year average to count automakers' compliance with next year's CO2 limits - allowing them to miss next year's targets and dodge fines if they catch up in 2026 and 2027.

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(Reporting by Kate Abnett. Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Mark Potter)