Italy asks EU to cancel plan to phase out internal combustion engines by 2035 – What are the implications?
Essay by Eric Worrall
“…the ideological vision has failed. We need to admit that…”
Italy seeks to overturn EU’s 2035 internal combustion engine ban
By Alberto BrambillaSeptember 7, 2024 at 11:45 AM EDT
(Bloomberg) — Italian officials say the European Union’s plan to ban the sale of new internal combustion engines from 2035 should be reconsidered.
“The ban must be changed,” Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, on Saturday.
Pichetto Fratin called the EU’s decision “absurd” and driven by an “ideological vision” and a state-controlled approach to policymaking in the bloc. He added that the plan needed to change to reflect different market realities amid a slowdown in the European auto industry.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso also backed a change, urging the newly formed European Commission to review the plan in early 2025, from 2026. “In the context of uncertainty affecting the German automotive industry, clarity is needed so that the European industry does not collapse,” Urso said at Cernobbio.
“Europe needs a pragmatic vision, the ideological vision has failed. We need to admit that,” he added.
…
I don’t know how many people would agree that Italy invented the prestigious automobile industry, but they certainly played a big part in it. The idea that they would abandon such beauty, such a refined quest for perfection, has always been the stuff of nightmares for the insensitive green left.
The iconic Italian automaker Ferrari has been a leader in rejecting EV claims. Last year, it publicly announced its rejection of EV claims, and in doing so, it may have saved itself from sharing the financial pain of its more gullible competitors, most of whom have blindly bet their future financial viability on the promises of politicians.
Aside from the fact that many people don’t want to own an electric car, there are other reasons to consider.
Europe declares around 11 million electric cars, out of one Total number of cars owned is about 250 million. Even if Europe somehow convinces all those 250 million car owners to trade in their ICE cars for electric ones, there will still be a huge increase in demand for a grid struggling to maintain energy supplies through the winter.
Let’s hope the EU will soon surrender to reality.
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