The EU states will not make a final decision next Tuesday on the blanket ban on new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035 as originally planned. This was announced by a spokesman for the responsible Swedish EU Council Presidency in Brussels.
Shortly before, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said in Berlin that Germany cannot agree to the planned ban at the moment. Wissing reiterated the demand that the EU Commission must submit a proposal on how climate-neutral synthetic fuels can be used in combustion engines after 2035. The EU Commission must fulfill a corresponding commitment.
Environmentalists, the Ministry of the Environment and the Greens warn that the entire combustion plan could tip over, with serious consequences not only for climate protection but also for Germany’s credibility in the EU.
Without Germany’s consent, the vote could have failed. Passing the law requires the approval of 15 out of 27 member states, which together must make up at least 65 percent of the total population of the EU. In addition to Germany, countries such as Italy, Poland and Bulgaria recently did not want to agree to the plans. The 65 percent hurdle would not be reached without the four countries.
Experts at e-fuels skeptical
Actually, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states had already agreed in October that from 2035 onwards only new cars that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation may be sold in the EU. The pending vote of the EU states is the last step in the legislative process and is actually a formality.
However, Wissing had already announced resistance to the project at the beginning of the week and threatened that Germany would not be able to agree. He justified this by saying that the EU Commission has not yet submitted a proposal on how only vehicles fueled with climate-neutral fuels such as e-fuels can be approved after 2035. This was part of the agreement in the Council of EU States in June 2022, with which the FDP could be persuaded to agree within the federal government.
E-fuels are synthetic fuels made from water and carbon dioxide. The electricity required for this ideally comes from renewable energy, such as from large wind turbines. If the e-fuels are actually generated from 100 percent green electricity, they only have a small ecological footprint that occurs in the refinery or when transporting the e-fuels on ships that still use conventional diesel. Nevertheless, many experts do not consider e-fuels to be suitable for achieving the climate goals in the transport sector. So far, their production has been very expensive and complex, and the level of efficiency is too poor compared to electric cars.