Some good news. Greenpeace France have teamed up with trade union CGT, consumers' association UFC Que choisir, and road safety expert Claude Got to form a coalition to call for a strong EU legislation on CO2 emissions from cars.

The timing couldn't be better - France holds the EU presidency and though French car makers could meet the targets under the cars emission legislation, the French - German Merkozy deal , if adopted, would put the car lobby's demands way above the need for strong action to reduce CO2 emissions.

Personally, I think it's very important that trade unions and environmentalists are working together today. We need to show that environmental and social issues are not opposed. On contrary, they fit together. Ambitious environmental measures can create many new jobs.

The responsibilities of the state and economic and social players lie in anticipating and facilitating investments in research, employment and training to face technological challenges. This requires a high level of dialogue and early social negotiations.

The signatories to this statement represent a wide range of interests - consumers, workers, road casualties, environmentalists. Together, we intend to defend an ambitious reform in the car industry for the benefit of present and future generations. We urge political decision makers to defend ambitious and legally-binding targets to combat climate change in a key European industrial sector. We also call on car manufacturers to stop hindering a regulation that would not only create an economic and industrial dynamic in the car industry, but also reduce CO2 emissions, household fuel bills and road risks. We ask car manufacturers to take their share of the responsibility beyond advertising campaigns, and to participate in the collective efforts that must be made if we are to meet the most serious global challenge humanity faces.

The coalition is calling for strong targets including a regulation that includes an objective of 120g CO2/km by 2012 and penalties severe enough to ensure all manufacturers comply. They're also asking for an ambitious and binding longer-term target to cut CO2 emissions by 2020. You can find out more here.

Anne Valette, Climate campaigner at Greenpeace France