The European Parliament approved this Tuesday the draft regulation that puts an end to the sale of new vehicles with gasoline, diesel or hybrid engines in 2035 within the European Union (EU).
The initiative obtained 340 votes in favor, 279 against and 21 abstentions, according to a statement published by the legislative body.
The next step is for the European Council (EC), the executive body of the EU, to formally approve the text for it to be published in the bloc’s Official Journal.
It’s about the first proposal of the Fit for 55 package (Objective 55, in Spanish), with which the EU proposes the reduction of carbon dioxide by 55% for new cars and 50% for new vans by 2030 compared to the 2021 levels, and 100% by 2035.
According to the defenders of the agreement, these deadlines give enough leeway to the industry to adapt.
“Manufacturers will be able to use the technologies of their choice to achieve these objectives, for example, electrification, hydrogen fuel cells or hydrogen,” the Commission said in a statement, replicated by the AFP news agency.
According to the vice president of the EC, Frans Timmermans, the block will have to compete with China, which between last year and the beginning of 2023 “will have 80 models of electric cars on the international market, which will be cheaper and cheaper.”
In 2022, one in eight new cars sold in the EU were ‘zero emission’.
However, from the conservative European People’s Party they said that after 2035 citizens will be seen driving old cars due to the high price of new models and German MEP Jens Gieseke proposed “letting the market decide which technology is the best to achieve”. the objectives.
Internal combustion engine cars are responsible for around 15% of CO2 emissions in the EU, while heavy haulage trucks and long-distance and city buses contribute another 6%.
