T&E reaction to EU and Germany deal on 2035 zero-emissions cars law
Europe needs to move forward and give clarity to its automotive industry.
The European Commission and the German government today reached an agreement that will allow the 2035 zero-emissions deadline for cars to enter law, according to reports. The Commission agreed to make a proposal, allowing cars running only on climate neutral fuels – e-fuels provided they are made with clean energy – to be registered within the Euro 6 vehicle type approval rules.
Under the deal, the Commission will first designate a new vehicle category for cars running exclusively on e-fuels, then present a delegated act allowing these vehicles to count towards the EU car CO2 targets. They also agreed that the Commission would present a statement setting out the legislative approach that will allow e-fuel-only cars to be registered after 2035.
Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and emobility at Transport & Environment said: “Europe needs to move forward and give clarity to its automotive industry which is in a race with the US and China. E-fuels are an expensive and massively inefficient diversion from the transformation to electric facing Europe’s carmakers. For the sake of Europe’s climate credibility, the 2035 zero-emissions cars deal needs to enter law without any further delay.”