The decision that only zero-emission cars should be sold from 2025 is one of the key elements of the European Union’s decarbonisation policy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. And the final decision is getting closer, as After the Environment Commission’s approval of the new emission reduction rules and which plans to abolish the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2035, all that is missing is the final ruling from the plenary session of the EU Parliament, which will take place this Wednesday.
The European Commission is considering a 65% reduction in emissions for new cars and vans by 2030 (currently set at 37.5% and 31% compared to 2019) compared to this year’s level, and 100% by 2035, which would mean the end of the era of internal combustion engine cars. In 2020, the EU has already raised its emissions reduction targets and is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050. And now it wants to propose new regulations to achieve that target.
Finally, the European Parliament will vote next Wednesday on the proposal to end the sale of new cars and vans with a combustion engine by 2035. In addition, the European government must decide whether to set targets for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions higher for manufacturers.
Earlier this Tuesday, the plenary debated that 2035 is the date when the total ban on the sale of combustion and hybrid vehicles across the European Union will be introduced, as proposed by the European Commission last summer, and what it means to replace the previously approved target by five years.
The European Parliament’s guidelines also include ideas such as abolishing the zero- and low-emission vehicle (ZLEV) incentive mechanism, as it no longer fulfills its original purpose.
They also call on the Commission to submit a report by the end of 2025 on progress towards the zero-emission road mobility target and then to proceed with an annual assessment, including the impact on consumers and employment, the level of use of renewable energy, as well as information on the second-hand market.
Likewise, they are entrusting the EC with a report by the end of 2023 detailing the need for specific funding to ensure a fair transition in the automotive sector, with the aim of containing negative effects on employment and other economic impacts.
Finally, they call for a clear methodology to be established next year to assess the full life cycle of the CO2 emissions of cars and vans sold on the EU market, as well as the fuels and energy consumption of these vehicles.
Environmental organization Transport & Environment (T&E) points out that car manufacturers could add around 800 billion euros to their market value this decade if they switch to electrification more quickly.
The association has argued that in three to five years profit margins for electric car manufacturers will exceed those of internal combustion engine manufacturers. Likewise, by the end of the 2020s, engine manufacturers’ profit margins will have shrunk and could even be negative on balance sheets.
The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) has defended that despite the automotive industry undergoing changes to decarbonise and offer carbon neutral mobility solutions in the European Union, the internal combustion engine will remain a mobility solution “for many years to come.” .
The association has indicated that the transition to climate neutral road transport will require many “coherent” policies across the European Union, especially for road transport.
ACEA has also proposed to improve the key parameters of petrol and diesel, which will allow better quality control and reduce polluting emissions from old and new vehicles in favor of air quality.
For its part, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (Clepa) has expressed its support for the trend towards electrification, but has stated that the transition must be managed “well” and has demanded that the technologies be not banned, but the use of fossil fuels fuels if you want to reduce emissions.
Despite this, the association has emphasized that phasing out internal combustion engine technology by the year 2035 would mean the elimination of approximately 501,000 jobs from suppliers manufacturing components of these systems.
Of those half a million jobs, 70% (359,000 people) are likely to be lost between 2030 and 2035, highlighting the “limited time available” to manage the social and economic impacts.
In Spain, the Spanish Association of Car and Truck Manufacturers has defended the implementation of additional public measures in addition to the current ones, in case the proposal eventually goes through. In addition, they have defended that now is not the time to decide on the targets to be achieved in 2035, but to wait until 2028.
In the same way, the association has pointed out that if the Spanish government finally decides to support a new acceleration of the objectives “these new measures are even more necessary and urgent”, since if the Spanish car industry and employment are not adopted ” it may face a serious problem given the high demand for the new targets to be adopted ».
While the car market is in decline from the pandemic, electric cars, on the other hand, continue to gain ground. And brands such as Jaguar, Ford, Opel or Audi have confirmed that they only want to sell electric models this decade or the beginning of the next decade.
Electric cars accounted for almost 8% of new registrations in Western Europe in the first five months of this year, totaling 356,000 vehicles.
However, the situation in Spain is piling up and exacerbating the slowdown compared to the rest of Europe. In the first quarter of 2022, for example, a growth of 1.4 points was achieved compared to the previous period, to a total of 13.3 points out of 100 in the electromobility barometer of the ANFAC Manufacturers Association. Despite this increase, the national position differs from the leaders in electromobility and the gap with the European average widens by almost 15 points, which amounts to 28.1 points. In this way, Spain continues to distance itself from the rest of the European countries in the global indicator that assesses the penetration of electric vehicles and the installation of public charging infrastructures.
The Manufacturers Association believes that by 2022 it would be necessary to triple the presence of charging infrastructure compared to the previous year to reach at least 45,000 public charging points.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
