Europe might be bidding farewell to IC engine cars as Britain has announced its green industrial revolution as cast by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to cut emissions. Following the same plan, they will be banning the sale of petrol or diesel vehicles from 2030. This is five years earlier than the previous plan; last year Britain also became the first G7 country to set a law for a zero-emission plan by 2050. Let’s dig deeper:
Voting Against IC Engine Cars
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There was voting held on the amendment that would allow some automobile emissions from cars after 2035. The members of the Europe parliament rejected it. Their rejection was to support the fight against climate change and also help the transition to electric vehicles along with speeding up production.
Cutting CO2 Emissions
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The Europe executives & the European Union proposed a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 as compared to the levels in 2021. This would be achieved by switching to zero-emission vehicles, i.e. EVs, which also help combat global warming.
Helen Clarkson, Chief Executive, Climate Group(a non-profit organization working with the government & businesses to fight climate change), said the following:
“This is the sort of ambition we’ve been waiting to see from the EU, where it’s been lacking in recent years.”
They changed the existing target from 37.5 to 55%, which is significantly higher and would require drastic changes and manufacturing speed. They also proposed to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2035, which will inevitably be the end of the reign of fossil fuel vehicles in the 27 countries.
Final Negotiations Pending
The European parliament members still have to negotiate this with the respective ministers from the EU’s 27 respective countries & their governments before finalizing it. But this decision has made some impact on the governments & people along with the manufacturers.
This decision is set to kill the internal combustion engine from a market of 447 million people. ACEA: The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said that this way of killing a particular technology is not the rational solution to this problem and not the way to move forward.
The IC engine is crucial for the transition to pure EVs as it will include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) & even hydrogen range vehicles. Hence this move is abrupt and irrational. What do you think about this move?
