Officials announced on Saturday that the European Union and Germany had achieved an agreement on the use of combustion engines in the future. The car industry had been closely watching this issue.
An influential environmental group swiftly denounced the accord, which will permit some combustion engines beyond 2035.
The planned phase-out of CO2-emitting cars in 2035 had caused a rift between the bloc and its largest economy, but officials have recently given signs that a resolution was imminent.
Germany had requested assurances that new combustion engine automobiles can continue to be marketed after the deadline if they operate on e-fuels, and some of Germany's powerful auto sector supported this demand.
"We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars," Frans Timmermans, head of EU climate policy, said on Twitter.
After the late-Friday agreement, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing declared that "the way is clear."
"Vehicles with internal combustion engines can still be newly registered after 2035 if they fill up exclusively with CO2-neutral fuels," he said in a post on Twitter.
The EU's rotating presidency is now held by Sweden, who announced that the 2035 phaseout law would officially be approved by ambassadors on Monday.
At a meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels, energy ministers might then grant the measure the last approval necessary for it to go into effect.
The agreement, according to Greenpeace campaigner Benjamin Stephan, is a setback for tackling climate change.
"This stinky compromise undermines climate protection in transport, and it harms Europe," he said.
According to him, it lessens the auto industry's necessary focus on effective electromobility.
(Source:www.millinniumpost.in)
An influential environmental group swiftly denounced the accord, which will permit some combustion engines beyond 2035.
The planned phase-out of CO2-emitting cars in 2035 had caused a rift between the bloc and its largest economy, but officials have recently given signs that a resolution was imminent.
Germany had requested assurances that new combustion engine automobiles can continue to be marketed after the deadline if they operate on e-fuels, and some of Germany's powerful auto sector supported this demand.
"We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars," Frans Timmermans, head of EU climate policy, said on Twitter.
After the late-Friday agreement, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing declared that "the way is clear."
"Vehicles with internal combustion engines can still be newly registered after 2035 if they fill up exclusively with CO2-neutral fuels," he said in a post on Twitter.
The EU's rotating presidency is now held by Sweden, who announced that the 2035 phaseout law would officially be approved by ambassadors on Monday.
At a meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels, energy ministers might then grant the measure the last approval necessary for it to go into effect.
The agreement, according to Greenpeace campaigner Benjamin Stephan, is a setback for tackling climate change.
"This stinky compromise undermines climate protection in transport, and it harms Europe," he said.
According to him, it lessens the auto industry's necessary focus on effective electromobility.
(Source:www.millinniumpost.in)
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