EU countries all set to approve 2035 phaseout of CO2-emitting cars

April 9, 2023: The new cars that will be sold 2035 onwards, according to the EU laws, should have zero CO2 emissions. Continue reading to know more!

European Union countries' energy ministers are all set to approve the cessation of new CO2-emitting car sales 2035 onwards. Although Germany had initially opposed the law that was put in place to introduce cars that align with EU’s climate change goals, the vote has come out in favour of the EU laws.

In order to pacify the situation, the European Commission tried to sign up a deal with Germany to settle the dispute. According to the agreement, the 2035 ban will not include combustion engine cars that only run on e-fuels.

If the policy is executed, combustion engine cars in the EU would be very difficult to sell from 2035. 

What is European Union?

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic alliance of 27 countries and is one of the world's most powerful trade blocs. It operates an internal (or single) market which allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states. Nineteen of the countries share the euro as their official currency. The countries included in the European Union are:

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The law will hopefully be backed by most European countries, although Italy and Poland are set to oppose it. The new laws would require all the operational cars to emit zero CO2, and release 55% lower CO2 emissions from 2030, compared to 2021 levels. 

Using hydrogen from CO2-free electricity and capturing CO2 emissions, E-fuels can be produced through an assembly. The fuels are neutral in terms of carbon-emission, since the CO2 released equals the CO2 removed from the atmosphere. 

The emissions released through vehicles accounts for nearly a quarter of EU emissions. Therefore, the new orders put in place are all set to implement a complete phase-out of the new CO2-emitting cars by 2035, whose life expectancy is of about 15 years, in order to meet their carbon goals by 2050. 

With the winter scarcity faced by the EU countries due to the Russia-crisis situation, the Union has also established a voluntary target to curb their gas use by 15% for a year.