Daimler asks economy minister for help against stricter lorry emission targets

German lorry producer Daimler is worried about the current debate about stricter CO2 emission rules in Brussels and has written to economy minister Peter Altmaier to intervene on their behalf at EU level, Till Hoppe and Markus Fasse write in Handelsblatt. “We would be very grateful if you could work towards a compromise in the European Council that takes the concerns of our production sites and the people working there apporpriately into account,” the head of Mercedes-Benz Lkw, Stefan Buchner wrote in a letter seen by Handelsblatt. Both the European Council and the European Parliament recently suggested making emission limits for lorries even stricter. The council of environment ministers wants a 15 percent reduction by 2025 and minus 30 percent by 2030; the parliament suggests minus 20 and minus 35 percent. With these limits CO2 emissions from road transport that are currently making up six percent of the EU’s total emissions are to be reduced. If a lorry manufacturer fails to comply it faces high penalty payments, the authors write.