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PHOTO: pixabay
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The new cars, powered by internal combustion engines, can have only 14 more years of life in the European Union, according to new rules for limiting harmful emissions, which Brussels is currently discussing, Politico writes, quoted by money.bg.
Three high-ranking sources in the publication say that the European Commission is considering setting a zero-emission target for cars sold after 2035. The details have caused dissatisfaction among politically strong German carmakers.
“This will mean the death not only of the internal combustion engine, but also of the plug-in hybrids,” said Hildegard Müller, director of the VDA automotive lobby.
The rules under discussion will become a plan of the Green Pact, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the European Union by the middle of the century. The EC is considering imposing rules for a 60% reduction in car emissions by 2030, compared to the current target of 37.5%. By 2035, the reduction will be 100%.
If the amended restrictions are approved by the Commission – which we will find out by 14 July – they will have to receive the approval of both the individual European countries and the European Parliament. They are expected to face fierce opposition from carmakers as well as countries that rely on the industry.
Although many car companies already produce electric cars, only Volvo and Volkswagen have strategies to move entirely to electric mobility by the end of the decade.
Audi, which is part of the German giant’s group, also plans to stop selling cars with internal combustion engines by 2026. At the same time, Daimler and BMW are considered the least prepared for such a transition.
Manufacturers and some Member States are urging the European Union to first dramatically increase investment in charging stations. The European Commission, on the other hand, sees itself forced to act faster because of climate change.
Under the Green Pact, emissions from transport must be reduced by 90% by 2050. The previous target of reducing emissions from cars by 37.5% was approved in 2018 after long and hard battles.
But with an average life expectancy of about 15 years, 2035 is the deadline by which sales of new petrol and diesel ones should be banned in order to meet the 2050 targets.
Maros Shefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission, said a final version of the text had not yet been approved. But looking at the growth of electric car sales, “something that seems ambitious for 2025, 2030 or beyond may not be so ambitious when we see what’s happening in the market.”
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