BERLIN – Germany and the European Union announced on Saturday that they have reached an agreement in a dispute over the future of cars with internal combustion engines, allowing the registration of new car with such engines even after 2035 provided that they use only climate-neutral fuels.
EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans tweeted that “we have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuel in cars.”
We have reached an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuel in cars.
For now, we will be working to adopt CO2 standards for automotive regulation as soon as possible and the Commission will be fast-tracking the legal steps required to implement article 11.
– Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU)
March 25, 2023
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing tweeted that the road has been cleared for newly registered climate-neutral fuel-only internal combustion engines even after 2035.
Wissing writes: “We secure opportunities for Europe by maintaining key options for affordable and climate-neutral mobility.
ONE Initial proposal of the member states of the European Union on new carbon dioxide emission standards for cars was postponed due to objections from Germany. The EU wanted to ban all sales new car with internal combustion engines from 2035.
Germany has asked for an exemption for cars that run on e-fuel, arguing that such fuels can be produced using renewable energy and that carbon is captured from the air so they don’t spew out more. Climate Change emissions into the atmosphere.
Wissing said it has agreed on specific procedural steps and a specific timetable has been put in place. He added: “We want this process to be completed by the fall of 2024.
Timmermans also wrote that “we will now work to adopt CO2 standards for automotive regulation as soon as possible.”
The issue has led to an ideological split in the German government between Wissing’s libertarian Liberal Democratic Party and the environmentalist Green party, which has advocated an outright ban on movement. internal combustion.
Germany’s main opposition party, the centre-right bloc, also opposes the EU-wide ban on internal combustion engines, warning that it would harm the country’s prized auto industry.
Critics argue that battery-electric technology is better suited for passenger cars and that precious synthetic fuels should only be used when no other option is viable, such as in aviation.
