BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Environment Ministry will not resist a European Commission proposal on carbon dioxide emissions limits for cars and vans, a ministry spokesman said.
"Blocking (the proposal) would carry great risks... It would in our opinion likely lead to there being no limits on emissions at all in the coming years. That would be the worst scenario for the environment," he told a regular government news conference on Wednesday.
"That is why we have decided not to block the Commission's proposal as the basis of further proceedings," he added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that European carmakers could be made uncompetitive if EU targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cars and vans were set at more than 30 percent by 2030. The Environment Ministry had previously backed tougher limits.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin and Riham Alkousaa; Writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Thomas Seythal)
