the EU definitively validates the text which provides that new cars will no longer have to emit CO2 in 2035

The 27 Member States of the European Union definitively approved, Tuesday, March 28, the end of heat engines in new cars from 2035, central measure of the climate plan of the Twenty-Seven, formalizing a green light already acquired the day before. Thus, the text is validated which will force new cars to no longer emit any CO2 from the middle of the next decade, effectively banning petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles in favor of all-electric vehicles.

Among the Twenty-Seven, only Poland voted against. Italy, Romania and Bulgaria abstained in the vote by EU energy ministers meeting in Brussels. The day before, the ambassadors of the member countries had agreed to proceed with this formal adoption on Tuesday, the final stage of a long legislative process. This text is part of the European objective of carbon neutrality by 2050.

An open door to synthetic fuels

Germany had surprised its European partners in early March by blocking the regulation when it had already been approved in mid-February by MEPs meeting in plenary, after a green light from the Member States also voted by Berlin. To justify its volte-face, extremely rare at this stage of the procedure, Germany had demanded that the Commission present a proposal opening the way to vehicles running on synthetic fuels.

This technology, controversial and still in development, would consist in producing fuel from CO2 resulting from industrial activities. Defended by top-of-the-range German and Italian manufacturers, it would make it possible to extend the use of internal combustion engines beyond 2035. Finally, vehicles equipped with a combustion engine may be registered after 2035 if they exclusively use neutral fuels in terms of of CO2 emissions.