EU lawmakers set to halt carbon curbs

By Pete Harrison and Ilona Wissenbach

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers are set to slam the brakes on plans to curb carbon dioxide emissions from cars, easing the burden on the auto industry in the fight against climate change, documents circulated on Tuesday showed.

A draft European Parliament resolution would delay and soften the mandatory emissions limits proposed by the executive European Commission, reduce the fines for non-compliance and give carmakers a freer hand on how they achieve the cuts.

A vote by parliament's environment committee on Thursday could set the legislature's position in negotiations with member governments on the highly contentious plan, in a potential victory for Germany's powerful automobile sector.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has fought to soften the Commission plan on behalf of German automakers, who specialize in heavy luxury vehicles with high emissions.

While the proposals are not yet final, they already have enough backing from the dominant conservative and socialist groups to pass largely unchanged, lawmakers said.

"This is guaranteed to go through as it is," British Liberal member Chris Davies told Reuters. "But it is not ambitious enough. Just at the time MEPs should be putting steady pressure on the accelerator, they are instead putting on the brakes."

The Commission proposed capping carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars at an average of 130 grams per km in 2012 across the fleet, compared with a current EU average of 158g.

Other improvements such as better tires, gears and air conditioning should bring the overall level down to 120g.