New cars sold in the EU must have zero emissions from 2035

EU member states have approved a "landmark law" that will require all new cars sold in the bloc to be zero-emissions from 2035, BBC News reports. It said the deal was "delayed for several weeks after Germany requested an exemption for cars powered by e-fuels". It adds: "The new law was expected to make it impossible to sell cars with internal combustion engines in the EU from 2035. However, the exemption won by Germany will now help those with traditional vehicles - even if e-fuels are not yet in mass production." Reuters reports that the approval of the law, which will now come into force, means that all new cars will have to be zero-emissions from 2035 and 55 % less carbon dioxide emissions from 2030 compared to 2021 levels. EurActiv reports that the agreement finalizes "one of the most controversial elements of the EU Green Deal". He adds: "The vote ensures that the currently dominant combustion engine technology will be largely replaced by electric vehicles in the coming decades, reducing the carbon footprint of Europe's roads." EU institutions". He adds: "In addition to setting a clean car target for 2035, the legislation increases the interim target to reduce emissions by 2030, which will force carmakers to increase sales of electric vehicles in the coming years."

Politico calls the e-fuels carve-out a "Pyrrhic victory in the war to save the car engine." It states that there are doubts about the separate legislation needed to introduce the exemption. Reuters reports that the deal "throws a thin lifeline to the petrol car". It states: “Costs and energy scarcity suggest that e-fuels may be best used in industries that are more difficult to convert to electric motors, such as trucks, shipping or aircraft. They may play a small role in passenger cars as well." Pointing to luxury brands Ferrari and Porsche, he says that "wealthy clients will be able to afford the higher costs," adding: "For mass brands, electric cars will probably remain the cheapest option."

But in the UK, the front page of the Daily Telegraph carried the headline: "Petrol car ban in chaos after EU withdrawal." The article reads: "A looming UK ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was thrown into disarray on Tuesday after Brussels eased its own restrictions amid opposition from the German auto industry. Experts and politicians have warned that UK rules, due to come into force in 2030, are unsustainable following European easing, which will allow internal combustion engines as long as they burn carbon-neutral petrol alternatives." The document adds: "Sources have indicated that Whitehall is considering following [ European] Commission and also allow an exemption for e-fuels." The article, which states that "Critics of the government's net zero consumption plans have used the European Union's decision as evidence that the policy needs to be completely rethought", quotes several Eurosceptic and climate-sceptic Conservative MPs , who say the UK should follow the EU's example, include former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, Philip Davies of the niche "Net Zero Control Group" and former government minister John Redwood.

Rachel Russell, BBC News, Carbon Brief