EU reaches deal to ban CO2-emitting cars by 2035

• Negotiators reached an agreement on legislation to phase out new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035.
• There is an exemption for “niche” producers who produce less than 10,000 automobiles annually
• The decision was “extremely far-reaching,” according to Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW.

Negotiators stated that the European Union has reached an agreement on legislation to phase out new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035.

The negotiations between representatives of the European Council, representing the 27 member states, and the European Parliament kicked off on Thursday and will support the bloc’s transition to a carbon-free future.

“We have just finished the negotiations on CO2 standards for cars,” tweeted French MEP Pascal Canfin, who chairs the environment commission of the European Parliament.

“Historic (EU) decision for the climate which definitively confirms the target of 100 percent zero-emission vehicles in 2035 with intermediary phases between 2025 and 2030.”

Currently, cars account for approximately 15% of all CO2 emissions in the EU, while transportation as a whole accounts for approximately 25%.

The agreed-upon draft, based on a July 2021 plan by the EU executive, asks for the elimination of CO2 emissions from new cars in Europe by 2035.

This effectively prohibits the sale of new gasoline and diesel automobiles, light commercial vehicles, and hybrids in the bloc after that date, in favor of all-electric vehicles.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed the deal as “a crucial milestone to reach our 2030 climate target.”

There is an exemption for “niche” producers, meaning those who produce less than 10,000 automobiles annually.

Until the end of 2035, these vehicles may be equipped with a combustion engine. This provision is also referred to as the “Ferrari amendment” because it primarily benefits luxury brands.

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“Far-reaching”

The decision, according to Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW and president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, was “extremely far-reaching.”

“Make no mistake, the European automobile industry is up to the challenge of providing these zero-emission cars and vans,” he said.

Zipse said, however, that additional steps were required for the sector to reach this goal, such as “an abundance of renewable energy, a smooth private and public charging infrastructure network, and availability to raw materials.”

In June, the European Parliament voted in favor of the 2035 ban on all internal combustion engine vehicles.

Conservative MEPs and Germany exhibited difficulty with a few of the objectives, fearing that they would impose a significant burden on EU automakers competing against global rivals with broader objectives.

Approximately 12 percent of new automobiles sold in the European Union today are electric vehicles, as consumers transition away from CO2-emitting models in response to rising energy costs and stricter environmental traffic laws.

China, the largest vehicle market in the world, aims to have at least half of all new cars be an electric, plug-in hybrid, or hydrogen-powered by 2035.

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