In the future, only new cars that do not emit any greenhouse gases during operation are to be sold in the European Union. The regulation is to come into force in 2035 and would mean the end of petrol and diesel vehicles as new cars. Negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament agreed on this on Thursday evening, as announced by the Czech Council Presidency. It should be possible to review the decision again in 2026.
The agreement represents a “historic decision by the EU for the climate,” said French MEP Pascal Canfin, who heads the European Parliament’s environment committee. It stipulates that new cars with petrol and diesel engines should no longer be registered in the EU from 2035. This finally confirms the goal of “100 percent emission-free vehicles” by 2035, Canfin explained. E-Fuels is a climate-friendly compromise? In addition, they want to work towards a compromise, according to which the use of so-called e-fuels is also an option. These synthetic fuels are made from water and carbon dioxide using electricity. When they are burned, fewer environmentally harmful exhaust gases are produced, and their production is currently still very complex and their energy balance is significantly worse. If the fuel is used in an engine, it runs more or less climate-friendly because the CO2 emitted comes from the atmosphere. Critics note, among other things, that synthetic fuels are needed in other sectors such as shipping or aviation much more urgently than in road traffic. “Ban goes in the wrong direction” The ÖVP MEP Barbara Thaler reacted critically to the decision. “Unfortunately, the ban on the combustion engine from 2035 is going in the wrong direction,” she wrote in a broadcast. “Transport must make its contribution to climate protection. To achieve this, ambitious goals must go hand in hand with feasibility. Battery-powered cars will find their place in the market. But just relying on electromobility is not enough. In this way, we are not creating any green jobs in Europe, but are only shifting our dependence on raw materials to China, if there are even enough raw materials for the electrification of transport in Europe,” she warned. Rather, Europe should “focus on technology neutrality and, parallel to the expansion of electrification, also invest in alternative fuels and focus on the sustainable further development of the combustion engine,” said the ÖVP MP.
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