Retrofit

 source: Le Figaro

author:  Leonor Hubaut

translation: GoogleTransalte/doxa-louise

Europe announces the end of new diesel and petrol vehicles for 2035

Defenders of the measure hail a “historic” decision, a “revolution”.

WHAT_THIS_MEANS - MEPs adopted on Wednesday a ban on the sale of new cars emitting CO2. States have yet to decide.

Brussels

Europe is moving up a gear. The end of sales of new cars with thermal engines is on the agenda from 2035. Applause and expressions of relief resounded in the hemicycle of the European Parliament at the end of the day on Wednesday when the result of the vote fell. Until the last moment, the uncertainty was palpable in the electric atmosphere that reigned in Strasbourg since the rejection, a few hours earlier, of the proposal on the reform of the emissions quota market.

The European Parliament therefore aligns itself with the European Commission's proposal. In negotiations with the Member States, MEPs will defend the zero emission policy for new cars and vans from 2035. Only new vehicles with electric batteries or hydrogen can be sold. To prepare for this, car manufacturers will have to reduce the CO2 emissions of their new cars by 55% starting in 2030 (50% for utility vehicles).

Contrary to usual, internal divisions did not motivate the European Parliament to adopt a more ambitious position than that proposed by the Commission. But the defenders of the measure hail a “  historic  ” decision, a “  revolution  ”. "  Cars circulating on average fifteen years, we must stop producing thermal vehicles in 2035 to be neutral in 2050  ", it was explained. This is all the more important as the sector alone accounts for a fifth of the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions.

Beyond controversy

The vote is however a defeat for the European People's Party (with whom the Republicans sit) which wanted to limit this deadline of 2035 to 90% of vehicles, with no precise date for phasing out. At the heart of the argument from the right: the immediate pressures of energy costs, the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the need to give industry more time to adapt. Agnès Evren, MEP for the European People's Party, however has denounced a certain hypocrisy: “  on combustion engines, the European Parliament refuses a 10% margin for Clio manufacturers but Ferraris will be exempted and will be able to continue on petrol…  ”

Beyond the controversy, MEPs agreed to introduce a transition fund to support the players in the sector most affected by the transition, to impose the end of the most polluting vehicles from 2030 or even to abolish the regime favorable to trucks.

The car lobby, guns blazing

Pascal Canfin, the President of the Environment Committee of the Parliament, in charge of climate issues, particularly welcomes the decision to integrate the "  retrofit  " (ability to transform gasoline or diesel vehicles into hybrid vehicles) in the calculations of manufacturers' emissions . Enough to promote this method for the benefit “  in particular of people who do not go to the new market  ” but also of French industry, at the forefront of this technology.

This vote, as historic as it was, is only a first step. The Twenty-Seven have yet to adopt their own negotiating position, probably at the end of the month. The real negotiations will then begin, with the aim of reaching an agreement between the States, the Commission and Parliament by the end of the year. There is no doubt that the lobbying, already extremely intense in the automotive sector, will continue.