Exxon lobbyists urged Commission to tune down car CO2 rules

(EurActiv, 6 Mar 2020) ExxonMobil officials urged the EU in November to weaken guidelines on vehicle emissions, according to information obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Oil giant Exxon met European Commission officials just weeks before the EU announced its new Green Deal, documents showed Friday (6 March), in what one monitor described as “an attempt to influence” the bloc’s green agenda.

While there is no evidence that either Exxon or Commission officials acted improperly, the document gives rare insight into how energy majors engage with the lawmaking process, in ways that could effectively slow policies designed to curb carbon emissions.

The energy industry watchdog InfluenceMap, which released the internal meeting notes, said they constituted “the latest example of the US oil major’s attempt to influence climate legislation globally”.

Exxon representatives pushed the Commission to remove the EU’s strict CO2 vehicles standards, in an apparent “effort to stall a push towards electric vehicles,” InfluenceMap said.

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EurActiv, 6 Mar 2020: Exxon lobbyists urged Commission to tune down car CO2 rules