Ludovic Marin | AFP | Getty Images European lawmakers have voted in favor of banning the sale of new cars and diesel and petrol trucks in the EU from 2035, a major step towards the region’s ambitious green goals. On Wednesday, 339 MEPs in the European Parliament voted in favor of the proposals, proposed by the European Commission, the EU executive. There were 249 votes against the proposal, while 24 MEPs abstained. Leads the European Union one step closer to its goal of reducing emissions from new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles by 100% by 2035, compared to 2021. By 2030, the goal is to reduce emissions by 50% by trucks and 55% for trucks. The Commission has previously stated that passenger cars and lorries account for around 12% and 2.5% of the EU ‘s total CO2 emissions. MEPs will now negotiate the plans with the 27 bloc member states. The UK, meanwhile, wants to stop selling new cars and diesel and petrol trucks by 2030. It will require, by 2035, all new cars and trucks have zero emissions. The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020.
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Dutch MEP Jan Huitema, who is a member of the Renew Europe Group, welcomed the result of Wednesday’s vote. “I am excited that the European Parliament has supported an ambitious review of the 2030 targets and a 100% target for 2035, which is crucial to achieving climate neutrality by 2050,” he said. Others who commented on the news were Alex Keynes, director of clean vehicles at the Brussels-based Transport & Environment campaign group. “The deadline means that the latest fossil fuel cars will be sold by 2035, giving us a chance to prevent uncontrolled climate change,” Keynes said. He also argued that the plans provide the car industry with the confidence it needs to “increase production of electric vehicles, which will reduce drivers’ prices”. For its part, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers said it was “concerned that MEPs voted to set a target of -100% CO2 for 2035”. Oliver Zipse, president of ACEA and CEO of BMW, said his industry was “in the midst of a major push for electric vehicles, with new models steadily arriving”. “But given the instability and uncertainty we experience worldwide on a daily basis, any long-term regulation beyond this decade is premature at this early stage,” Zipse added. “Instead, a transparent mid-way review is needed to set post-2030 targets.” The EU has said it wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. In the medium term, it wants to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, which the EU calls its “Fit for 55” plan. . The implementation of this plan was not simple. The news about cars and trucks came after MEPs rejected a review of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS. In a press release on Thursday, the European Parliament said that three bills in the Fit for 55 package are now “pending a political agreement”.
