Germany changes its mind and puts pressure on the EU to release the sale of combustion vehicles by the deadline of 2035

When the legislators of the European Union (EU) voted to ban the sale of cars with non-block combustion engines by 2035, it was a historic victory for the climate. Porém, bastou or carimbo two political leaders of the block that changed their ideas to Germany.

In a reversal that surprised many members of the EU, the German government decided to push for a gap that would allow the sale of cars with combustion engines beyond the deadline of 2035 – as long as they run on synthetic fuels.

It is an exception that can put the ecological credentials of the European Union at risk. The block is legally required to become carbon neutral by 2050.

With cars and vans responsible for about 15% of their total greenhouse gas emissions, the elimination of polluting vehicles is a fundamental part of the EU’s climate policy.

Confirm what is in play:

The ban on cars with internal combustion engines is intended to be one of the central steps in the European Union’s ambitious plan to reduce its emissions to zero liquid by 2050 – which means removing hair less than the same amount of pollution the planet emits. .

The law provides for a total ban on the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars until 2035. The European Union argues that the delay is necessary because the average life of the car is around 15 years — so, to have a vehicle that does not emit carbon By 2050, the sale of cars with combustion engines must end by 2035.

But at the beginning of this month, shortly before the final vote, Germany rejected the idea that all internal combustion engines should be banned. At the same time, I defend the permit for engines powered by “green” fuels.

Other European countries, including Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, will join Germany to demand an excess and, after intense negotiations, the EU climate chief, Frans Timmermans, announced on Saturday that “an agreement with Germany on the future use of electronic fuels in cars” has been achieved.

Although the text of the law remains unchanged, Germany says that it now has the guarantees that it sought from the EU on electronic fuels.

“Vehicles with combustion engines can still be registered after 2035, they will only use CO2-neutral fuels,” said the German transport minister, Volker Wissing, on Twitter.

Timmermans said that the EU will work now on the elaboration of specific rules to implement the agreement.

Synthetic fuels, or e-fuels, are made with hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere.

Your proponents often portray you as “clean”, but the reality is not. Burning the home-produced fuels releases similar amounts of emissions from the planet’s heat and atmospheric pollutants as the use of conventional fossil fuels.

The “green” credentials refer to the manufacturing process: e-fuels are made of carbon that was removed from the atmosphere, or that offsets the emissions they produce.

For climate activists and legislators negotiating the new rules, this is not good enough.

“Electronic fuels emit carbon dioxide through the exhaust pipe,” said Dutch EU legislator Jan Huitema, who led the development of the policy.

There are other problems too. On the one hand, e-fuels are still not produced on a scale. The manufacturing process is expensive and requires a lot of renewable energy.

It is likely that the supply of e-fuels will be limited for some time, and critics say that they should be reserved for industries that do not have a viable alternative to fossil fuels, such as aviation and navigation.

Many EU policy makers are shocked by the demands of Germany and other countries. The legislation was in place for more than two years and required many rounds of negotiations.

“I was the main negotiator with the Conselho [Europeu] on the final text, which was endowed by the ambassadors of two different Member States”, said Huitema. “You have an agreement and now, suddenly, some member states want to abstain from the agreement. It is not like that you negotiate and how you make agreements with each other.”

Climate groups say that the changes enfraquecem the action on the climatic change.

Transport & Environment, a clean transportation campaign group, says the gap for electronic fuels will slow the transition to electric vehicles.

“O flat [da Alemanha] It would make the decarbonization of the new fleet unfeasible, at the same time that it would allow the use of more conventional oil in the existing fleet after 2035 – a situation in which everyone would win.”

At the same time, some assemblers will demonstrate against the possible changes in the law.

A group of dozens of companies, including Volvo and Ford, wrote an open letter to the European Union, pressing against the excess.

“The pioneering companies will invest significantly in zero emission vehicles and should be rewarded for assuming the inherent risks of decarbonizing their fleet. It would be a very negative sign to reverse the political agreement reached in the past year”, they said.

Germany is governed by a coalition, and there were two parties, or the liberal FDP, which called for the changes.

“The internal combustion engine is not the problem. São os combustíveis fósseis que o alimentam”, said Wissing, who is a member of the FDP, on Twitter at the beginning of this month. “The objective is climate neutrality, which is also an opportunity for new technologies. We need to be open to different solutions”, he added.

Germany is home to some of the world’s largest automakers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen, and the government has to walk a tightrope between ambitious climate policies and the interests of a powerful industry that keeps the economy running.

Manufacturers of automotive components and engines, producers of fossil fuels, and fuel transportation companies are lobbying for exception because it would allow them to continue using their existing infrastructure and products.

The Federação das Indústrias Alemãs, a lobby group, says that electronic fuels can make “a great contribution to achieve the climate goals set”.

“As they can be used immediately without the need to build a new infrastructure, they can also be implemented in less economically developed countries,” reports a statement on the group’s website.

A dispute over the legislation caused controversy within the German government.

The Minister of the Environment, Steffi Lemke, two Greens, another coalition party, criticized or challenged the law.

“Germany must remain a trustworthy partner for its EU partners. The new regulation of CO2 emissions for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, which Germany has supported in recent months, is a great step forward for European climate protection”, she said in a statement at the beginning of March.

The law is intended to be one of the strongest measures in the world to gradually phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.

Scientists say reducing pollution that affects the planet is non-negotiable if the world wants to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above two pre-industrial levels and avoid a tipping point other than extreme flooding , dry forests and fires will probably become much more frequent.

Despite these warnings and the promises made in the Paris Agreement to combat climate changes, global emissions will continue to increase, except for one remaining in 2020.

Some are concerned that the dispute casts doubts on the ability of the European Union to implement its ambitious climate agenda.

“This debate is really destabilizing,” says Elisa Giannelli, senior policy consultant at E3G, a climate think-tank, noting that União Europeia is “on the road to climate neutrality.”

“Remembering a part of the legislation is really undermining the credibility of what we have achieved in recent years”, she says.

“It’s not just about cars. É sobre os sinais politicos que essa [disputa] send.”

The revised law, which will allow some combustion engines powered by electronic fuels to be sold after 2035, must be approved at the terça-feira.