new delhi european union negotiators reached agreement on tighter caps on carbon dioxide from cars in a bid to spur the development of clean vehiclesrepresentatives of eu governments and the european parliament fixed a 375 per cent co2reduction target for 2030 compared with the 2021 limitthe deal on monday in brussels marks a compromise after the 28nation parliament in early october demanded an average 40 per cent co2 cut by autos in 2030 compared with 2021 and eu governments called later the same month for a 35 per cent reduction over the period the accord also includes an interim co2cut target for 2025this is an important signal in our fight against climate change environment minister elisabeth koestinger of austria current holder of the eus rotating presidency said in a statement after a nineandahalfhour meeting that marked the third attempt in as many weeks to achieve a breakthrough we had tough and intense negotiationseurope is showing greater resolve to clean up road transport amid heightened warnings about the catastrophic environmental impact of climate change and about the economic risks of losing out to the likes of china in the technological transition to lowemission vehiclesgreenhouse gasesabout 15 million autos are sold each year in the eu with cars accounting for more than a tenth of the blocs releases of co2 the main greenhouse gas blamed for rising global temperatures electric vehicles in europe have a market share of around 15 per centlike the targets for 2030 sought initially by the eu parliament and national governments the goal settled on during the deliberations on monday is more ambitious than a 30 per cent reduction proposed over the period by the european commission the blocs regulatory arm in draft legislation last yearautomakers lose policy clout in eu as tougher emission caps loomcarindustry groups have warned that tightening the commission proposal would threaten automotive jobs and consumer choice in europe the eus current average caps on co2 from cars are 130 grams a kilometer set for 2015 and 95 grams fixed for 2021the negotiated deal demands too much bernhard mattes head of german autoindustry group vda said in an emailed statement on monday nobody knows today how the agreed limits can be achieved in the given timethe european automobile manufacturers association struck a similar note expressing serious concerns about the 2030 target because delivering a 375 per cent co2 reduction might sound plausible but is totally unrealistic based on where we standat their brussels meeting the eu negotiators also fixed an interim co2cut target for autos of 15 per cent for 2025 in line with what member governments and the commission recommended initially and lower than a 20 per cent reduction demanded by the parliament two months agoin addition the negotiators broadly upheld a system proposed by the commission of additional incentives for cleancar outputtransport environment which campaigns for sustainable mobility hailed the accord while saying it still falls short of whats needed for the eu to meet its objectives under the landmark