Should EU ease ban on combustion engines?
On Tuesday, the European Commission presented new proposals for automotive industry regulations, including an easing of the ban on combustion engines which would allow the registration of vehicles with combustion engines even after 2035 under certain circumstances. Car manufacturers would have to guarantee that the carbon emissions of their new cars are on average 90 percent lower than in the reference year 2021. The move elicits mixed reactions from commentators.
A step backwards – and probably not the last
Respekt already sees the next demands for eased rules looming:
“The greatest risk is that the lobbying will continue. With an emissions reduction to zero percent, there is little room for negotiation, but ten percent for diesel and petrol opens up a range of options. The arguments are obvious: could it not be 20 percent? Do we have to offset all emissions? Ecological steel production is expensive; the industry is not prepared for this. Make an exception for us. In a nutshell, in view of the European end goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the present easing of rules looks like a step backwards. It may not be dramatic in its current form, but it has the potential to develop into a serious problem over time.”
Long overdue correction of course
Les Echos is delighted to see that politicians are finally showing some understanding for the automotive industry's concerns:
“Although Europe can be dogmatic, the MEPs are neither deaf nor blind. They have finally listened and realised that the accumulation of regulations, which are a burden for companies in general and for car manufacturers, farmers, the housing and bank sectors in particular, run the risk of damaging our economy, the competitiveness of manufacturers and the purchasing power of consumers. … Green Europe may be setting an example for the rest of the world, but its elected representatives and bureaucrats are beginning to understand that we cannot save the planet by destroying our economy.”
Supporting procrastinators
This U-turn rewards the procrastination of the European automotive industry, Le Soir criticises:
“Its pleas for the switch to electric vehicles to be postponed are a futile battle and an admission of its own failure. If it now feels that the electric knife is being held to its throat, this is simply because it has missed out on a historic industrial transformation and has fallen victim to its strategic blindness and denial of the ecological reality. It is also supported by politicians and lobbyists who want to protect it but are becoming accomplices in its decline.”
China wins either way
Der Tagesspiegel looks to China:
“Beijing is pressing ahead with the expansion of electric mobility, as decided by the Communist Party in the 2000s. The Chinese state is seizing the opportunity to squeeze Western carmakers out of the market with its battery expertise, raw materials and subsidised car start-ups – and the more uncertain the established players become, the more confident China will be. ... China ends up winning either way. If German manufacturers start investing in combustion engines again, the Chinese will strengthen their competitive edge in e-mobility. If they focus more on electric cars, their dependence on battery raw materials and processing in China will grow.”
The UK might follow suit
London is likely to backpedal too, says The Daily Telegraph:
“Britain has a self-imposed 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Boris Johnson, the former Tory prime minister, first announced the plans. His proposal meant the UK would go faster on phasing out internal combustion than the EU, which had set a 2035 date for its own ban. Labour is now the only one of the three leading parties still supporting the policy, which could prove a key issue among Britain's 40 million drivers at the next election. Kemi Badenoch said the Tories will ditch it if the party takes back power.”