The text will force new cars to no longer emit any CO2, effectively banning petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles, in favor of all-electric vehicles. sharpness86 / stock.adobe.com
The end of thermal engines in new cars from 2035 is finally approved, Germany having obtained an exemption for future synthetic fuels.
Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries on Monday approved the end of combustion engines in new cars from 2035, with Germany lifting its block in exchange for an exemption for future synthetic fuels. The text will force new cars to no longer emit any CO2, effectively banning petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles, in favor of all-electric vehicles. He will be “put on the agendaof a Tuesday meeting of energy ministers for formal adoption, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU announced.
This regulation is one of the pillars of the European climate plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Berlin had stunned its partners in early March by blocking it at the last moment when it had already been approved in mid-February by MEPs meeting in plenary, after a green light from the Member States, including Germany. To justify its volte-face, extremely rare at this stage of the procedure, Germany had demanded that the Commission present a proposal opening the way to vehicles running on synthetic fuels. This technology, controversial and still in development, would consist in producing fuel from CO2 resulting from industrial activities. Defended by high-end German and Italian manufacturers, it would extend the use of heat engines after 2035.
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The European Commission and Germany announced on Saturday that they had reached an agreement to unblock the text, which remains unchanged, with Brussels agreeing to make a firmer commitment to synthetic fuels in a separate proposal which should be validated by the fall. 2024. Vehicles equipped with a combustion engine can be registered after 2035 if they only use neutral fuels in terms of CO2 emissions, welcomed German Transport Minister Volker Wissing. In the opinion of many experts, the technology of synthetic fuels has little chance of imposing itself on the market and would only concern, at best, a minority of luxury vehicles. It is contested by environmental NGOs who consider it costly, energy-intensive and polluting.