One last turn of the piston and then it’s gone… The European Parliament voted on Wednesday June 8 to ban the sale of new thermal engine cars and vans in the European Union from 2035. a niche reserved for luxury cars, no more petrol or diesel engines will be authorized, nor even any hybrid, gas (LPG, CNG), agrofuel (ethanol, agrodiesel) or synthetic fuel engines. In thirteen years, in Europe, only vehicles emitting zero CO can be registered for the first time.2 during their use, in fact electric or hydrogen cars.
This Strasbourg vote is in fact only a stage. To be applied, the new regulation will have to pass by the European Council of Ministers of the Environment, on June 28, which will be able to amend the text, then by a “trilogue” associating the European Commission, the deputies and the Council. These negotiations should lead to a final settlement only in the fall. However, today’s poll is loaded with symbols. It programs the end of a vast history, that of the internal combustion engine, which will have marked the technology, the industry, the economy, the culture of Western countries, then of the whole world, for one hundred and fifty years.
“Pollution causes 300,000 premature deaths a year in Europe”
“It was close, but it’s a historic vote, confirms Lucien Mathieu, spokesperson for France for the Brussels NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). This total banishment of the thermal engine, in line with the recommendations of the IPCC, is our only chance of achieving our climate objectives. It allows us to reduce our dependence on oil. It is good for air quality – remember that pollution causes 300,000 premature deaths a year in Europe. » T&E’s only regret: that MEPs did not choose to speed up the transition. The regulation therefore provides for a reduction in CO emissions2 vehicles (compared to 2021) by 15% in 2025, then by 55% for passenger cars (50% for vans) in 2030 and finally by 100% in 2035.
The tone is opposite on the manufacturers’ side. “It is a decision against the market, against innovation and modern technologies”, raged Hildegard Müller, president of the powerful federation of German manufacturers VDA. In Europe, in the first quarter of 2022, sales of 100% electric cars accounted for 10% of registrations. In France, the market share of zero emissions rises to 12% over the first five months of 2022 (compared to 7% for the same period of 2021), but CO emissions2 new vehicles have stagnated since August.
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