A 60% cut in CO2 emissions for new cars from 2020 has been agreed in the Environment Committee of the European Parliament today.

The average emission level in 2006 was 159 g CO2/km. From 2020 the new figure will be no more than 95g CO2/km (i.e. around a 60% reduction). This doubles the CO2 emission savings compared to the European Commission’s proposal, leading to a reduction of 93 million tons CO2 in 2020.

David Martin MEP, Scotland’s only member on the Climate Change Committee, said: "This is a victory for the environment. This vote will force car manufacturers to clean their act up and to produce clean cars."

Mr Martin continued, continued: "This vote will protect British jobs and iconic British cars like Aston Martin and Lotus. This compromise is tough on industry, while at the same time safeguarding jobs by protecting small and niche manufacturers."

The proposals will also stimulate the production of ultra low carbon vehicles (emitting less than 50 g CO2/km) through the use of super-credits. This will be a time-limited incentive to produce low carbon cars - this is to kick start the market.