Spanish government opens €230m scrappage scheme to polluting cars

Spain’s government today said its €230 million scrappage scheme for cars could be used to buy polluting combustion engine vehicles.[1] Petrol cars and diesel cars will qualify under Programa “RENOVE 2020” even if they emit above the EU’s 2020/21 climate target of 95 grams of CO2 per km. Green group Transport & Environment (T&E) condemned the spending of public money on dirty vehicles that poison citizens and the planet and will risk pushing carmakers into paying heavy fines for missing their CO2 targets.

Isabell Büschel, Spain director at T&E, said: “Public finances are tight, so let’s not waste them on polluting, obsolete engines that are already on the way out. The scrappage scheme should only support zero-emission cars, which will tackle the air pollution crisis in Spanish cities and create lasting jobs in our auto industry.”

Four out of five people don’t want polluting vehicles in their city centres, according to a recent survey of city dwellers in Madrid and Barcelona.

The scrappage scheme will also be open to cars running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fossil gas despite Spain’s supreme court saying they will not help decarbonise transport. Last week the court ruled it is legal for gas cars to be excluded from scrappage schemes because they are worse for the climate than petrol or diesels and already receive significant state support.

Isabell Büschel concluded: “The government has left the scrappage scheme wide open to LPG and fossil gas-powered cars days after the supreme court said they don’t contribute to decarbonisation. They should be excluded from Programa RENOVE 2020.”

Note to editors:

[1] The scheme allocates €230 million to cars and €20 million to trucks and buses.