Source: Energy & Management Powernews, October 31 2022
In the EU, no new passenger cars with internal combustion engines are to be registered from 2035. A review of this decision is to be made in 2026.
The negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers agreed on a compromise, which largely follows the original proposal of the EU Commission. Thus, the CO2 emissions of new passenger cars per kilometer are to fall by 55 percent by 2030 (compared to 2021) and of so-called vans by 50 percent. Starting from 2035 a reduction goal of 100 per cent applies.
Disputed was until last whether on the reduction goal also synthetic fuels are credited, with whose production just as much CO2 is used as later released. This possibility does not exist according to the compromise that has now been reached. However, the Commission is to examine in detail in 2026 whether the 100 percent reduction target should be retained in view of technological developments. Vehicles that run "exclusively on CO2-neutral fuel" should be able to be registered after 2035 "outside the fleet standards and in accordance with climate neutrality."
Manufacturers do not have to fully meet the 2030 targets if they bring more than 25 percent electric cars and more than 17 percent e-vans to market. Manufacturers will receive further "emissions credits" for "eco-innovations" that demonstrably reduce CO2 emissions by at least 4 grams per kilometer.
The commission is to develop a method by 2025 to calculate the emissions of cars and vans over their entire lifetime, including production. On this basis, the auto industry can publish the total emissions for each vehicle.
Lembke: Credible negotiating position for world climate conference
Environmental groups welcomed the agreement. The director of Transport and Environment (T&E), Stef Cornelis, spoke of a historic decision: "This is not only good for our climate and air quality, but also for the German auto industry." It now has the chance to develop the "technology of tomorrow with us."
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said, "With this result, the EU can go to the world climate conference in Egypt with a credible negotiating position." In the view of her party colleague, Michael Bloss, the energy policy spokesman for the Greens in the European Parliament, the industry now has the necessary clarity: "Whoever now still relies on the internal combustion engine harms the industry, the climate and he violates European law."
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner called the result a "smart decision." During the negotiations, the FDP had advocated not relying solely on electromobility. The Liberals had pushed through their "technology-open approach," said their energy policy spokesman, Andreas Glück. The European People's Party (EPP) had also advocated a technology-neutral solution.
Her environmental policy spokesman, Peter Liese (CDU), however, does not expect the decision to be called into question by the Commission's review. MEP Markus Ferber (CSU) also assumes that cars with combustion engines will be "effectively banned" from 2035: "Ultimately, Brussels is thus steering into the one-way street of e-mobility and pushes the internal combustion engine to the siding in just 13 years, with serious consequences for competitiveness and Germany as an industrial location."
Auto industry demands faster expansion of charging infrastructure
Criticism also came from the automotive industry: "It is negligent to set targets for the time after 2030 without being able to make appropriate adjustments based on current developments," said VDA President Hildegard Müller. The president of the Association of the European Automotive Industry (ACEA), BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, called for a faster expansion of the charging infrastructure. The industry is capable of producing electric cars and vans, he said. He said it was now up to policymakers to ensure the right framework conditions: "This includes a large supply of renewable energy, an integrated public and private charging infrastructure and access to raw materials." The industry will insist on a serious review of the regulation in four years, Zipse announced, also in view of the rising costs of electromobility. This applies especially to batteries, which are becoming more expensive for the first time in more than ten years.
VW CEO Blume takes a decidedly relaxed view of the end of the internal combustion engine. However, when presenting the VW Group's quarterly figures, he stressed, "We think that e-fuels will support electrification."
Author: Tom Weingärtner
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