The European Parliament voted to support the ban on the sale of new cars using gasoline and diesel from 2035. The vote was held to thwart attempts to weaken the proposal to accelerate Europe’s transition to electric vehicles. The vote supports the basis of the European Union’s (EU) plan to reduce net emissions causing global warming by 55 percent by 2030, from levels in the 1990s.
The European Parliament supported the European Commission’s proposal last year, which envisions a 100 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from new vehicles by 2035. This means that after 2035, it will be impossible to sell motor vehicles running on fossil fuels in EU member states.
An attempt by some parliamentarians to propose a reduction of carbon dioxide to 90 percent instead of 100 percent was rejected.
The law has not yet taken its final form. Today’s vote will reinforce the position that the European Parliament will take in the negotiations with EU countries on the final form of the law.
The aim is to accelerate Europe’s transition to electric vehicles and to encourage automotive companies to invest heavily in electric vehicle production. Another law prepared within the EU obliges member states to install millions of electric vehicle battery chargers.
“It will become more affordable for consumers to buy and drive zero-emission vehicles,” said Jan Huitema, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on electric vehicle policy.
Automotive firms Ford and Volvo openly supported the plan to stop sales of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.
But e-mails reviewed by the Reuters news agency show that some automotive industry groups, including the German automotive association VDA, are lobbying to persuade parliamentarians to reject the 2035 target. Industry groups argue that the bill does not give low-emission alternative fuels a chance, given the uncertain future of battery charging infrastructure.
Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid models accounted for 18 percent of new passenger cars in the EU last year. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, car sales in general fell last year due to the semiconductor shortage.
Transport is the source of a quarter of the emissions that cause global warming in Europe. It is seen that the share of the transportation sector in the emission of greenhouse gases has increased in recent years, and this situation threatens the steps taken to prevent climate change.