Several companies have already agreed to eliminate combustion engines, and Volkswagen chief Ralf Brandstatter said the recent switch to electrification was “irreversible.” Mercedes has already pledged to be fully electric by 2030, “where market conditions allow.”
Ukraine’s war and pressure to move away from Russian gas have plunged the German economy into chaos, with the International Monetary Fund warning this week that its energy problems posed a serious threat to Russia’s largest economy. ‘Europe.
In addition to tensions within the German coalition, a spokesman for Environment Minister Steffi Lemke of the Green Alliance said the government “fully supports the Commission’s proposal and the European Parliament to allow cars new and light commercial vehicles with zero emissions only “. engines of 2035 ”.
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The European Parliament signed the 2035 zero-emission mandate earlier this month. The European Council is due to convene a final meeting of EU climate and environment ministers on 28 June.
The leader of Italy’s far-right Lega party, Matteo Salvini, referred to the decision at the time as “crazy”, calling it a “gift to China, a disaster for millions of Italians and Europeans “.
Italy is pushing for an exception to the ban for carmakers such as Ferrari, Bugatti and Lamborghini.
Cars account for around 12% of European greenhouse gas emissions, which are attributed to increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, storms and floods linked to climate change. Electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 18% of new cars sold in the EU last year.
In the UK, the ban on new petrol and diesel cars, originally scheduled for 2040, has been advanced by the government until 2030 as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to reduce emissions by at least 68% before of the same date. 1990 levels.
Green groups reacted angrily to Lindner’s latest speech, and the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation said the internal combustion engine was “an out-of-print model.”
“By not supporting the proposals of the European Council, Germany would be doing a disservice to the corporations that have long since begun the path to a future electric battery,” he added.
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