Old cars crushed in the effort to help the auto industry and the environment
Germany delays the EU limit on car CO2 emissions.
Image Caption German luxury car exports are still booming.
The German government has convinced his EU partners to delay the introduction of new limits on car CO2 emissions.
The Environment Ministers decided to revise an agreement concluded in July, which set a limit of 95g per km for the average car that target CO2 emissions to take effect in 2020.
But Germany, famous for its high-performance cars, said the 95g limit should not take full effect until 2024.
Green activists have lamented the new delay as shameful sop to polluters.
A leader of the German Green Party MEP Rebecca Harms, accused Germany of Chancellor Angela Merkel trampling the democratic process of the EU, since 2020 the agreement had already been reached between the European Parliament and the Council - the ministerial group of the EU.
Weakening the limits agreed in 2020, which have long been known, is a shameful sop to German carmakers and slow the development of new technologies to provide more efficient and less polluting cars, Harms said after the vote of ministers.
Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democrats conservative CDU are in talks with the Greens on Tuesday on the possibilities of forming a coalition government, but many analysts believe a grand coalition between the CDU and the center-left SPD social democrats is more likely to emerge.
The UK was among the countries that supported the position of the environment, the German minister Monday the German ARD newscasts.
The German Minister, Peter Altmaier, said it is not a fight about principles, but how we connect the necessary clarity in climate protection with the flexibility and competitiveness to protect the automotive industry in Europe.
Correspondents say there has been intense lobbying by luxury carmakers like BMW and Daimler, Mercedes manufacturer, on European legislation.
The emission limits are EU road portion to move Europe to a low carbon economy and emissions to slow the impact of climate change There is also widespread concern about other pollutants exhaust pipes.
In a new report, the European Environment Agency EEA over 90 European citizens are exposed to the most harmful particles of air pollution - PM and O3 Often, particles are transported over long distances across borders, he said.
Under the German proposal, CO2 95g goal would be introduced gradually - it would apply to 80 cars by 2020 and to all by 2024.
The ministers who argue for Germany: a revised plan will now be negotiated with the European Parliament and the European Commission and an agreement can not be reached until after the European elections in May 2014.
EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said she was disappointed and rejected the German proposal, the Reuters news agency reported.
Critics say the delay will undermine investment in greener alternatives such as electric cars and more fuel-efficient engines.
Germany delays the EU limit on CO2 emissions from cars BBC News, Germany, delay, limit.