The European Union (EU) has finally reached an agreement on the first terms of its “Fit for 55” package, which aims to significantly cut carbon emissions in Europe and achieve climate neutrality by the year 2050. This comes after more than five years of discussion and the previous year’s introduction of a firm proposal.

A complete ban on the production of new combustion vehicles beginning in the year 2035

The EU agreement calls for further reductions in carbon emissions by the year 2030 and establishes a complete ban on the production of new combustion vehicles beginning in the year 2035.

After many years of effort, the European Union (EU) is at last beginning to make some legislative ground toward its goal of instituting a comprehensive ban on combustion vehicles. Since 2016, countries such as Germany have been among those advocating for a ban on the sale of new combustion vehicles. Since then, other countries such as France and the Netherlands have joined the movement, and a large number of the respective countries’ domestic automakers have followed suit.

The prohibition is a component of the European Union’s broader “Fit for 55” plan, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the bloc of members by 55% by the year 2030, compared to the numbers for 2021. This plan has in the past been challenged by conservative elements in the European Union as well as by some automakers who believe that such timelines are just not realistic. Both of these groups are of the opinion that the policy should be abandoned.

Some car manufacturers are already on board

Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen Group, Ford, and Jaguar, are fully on board with this initiative and have already begun shifting their worldwide manufacturing plans toward being all-electric.

In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint even further, Volvo Cars have announced that it will leave the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) at the end of this year. In doing so, the company cited the fact that the long-standing automotive lobby’s benchmarks are not as aggressive as they should be.

Regardless of whether these EU countries or their local automakers believe a combustion ban by 2035 is conceivable or not, the legal processes to implement it are underway, marking an epoch in the history of transportation that sets the stage for a future in which the electric vehicle (EV) is king.

According to a news statement issued by The Council of the European Union, it has secured a provisional agreement with European Parliament to impose higher CO2 emission requirements for newly manufactured automobiles and commercial vehicles. All automakers in the EU are required to achieve a zero-emission objective for new car sales by the year 2035, as stipulated by the conditions of this first agreed-upon “Fit for 55” proposal.

As a result of this decision, new combustion vehicles will no longer be allowed to be driven legally on roads within the EU beyond the year 2035. These ideas constitute an amendment to the preexisting guidelines initially outlined in 2019. The aforementioned reduction in carbon emissions of 55 percent by the year 2030 is also an increase from the prior objective of 37.5 percent when compared to the data for 2021. Anna Hubáková, who represents the Czech Republic on the EU Council as the Minister of Environment, said:

“Closing a first deal on a proposal from the ‘Fit for 55’ package is a strong signal that the EU is determined to make progress towards climate neutrality and the green transition. Zero-emission mobility will be a building block for slowing down climate change that can create severe disruptions in many sectors of our society, including environment, migration, food security and the economy.”

Lamborghini and other smaller manufacturers are to be given an extension

There will be limited exemptions to the ban on the combustion engine that will take effect in 2035, according to the EU council. For instance, Lamborghini, which is a comparatively smaller automaker that relies on combustion and has a restricted output, will be given one additional year to fulfil the defined climate targets. After 2035, there is a possibility that more options, such as automobiles that run fully on CO2-neutral fuels, will still be eligible for new registrations. Nevertheless, that particular plan is still up for consideration.

Thankfully a great number of automobile manufacturers are already well on their way to bringing their CO2 emissions down to zero; however, they will need to pick up the pace for the sake of the entire planet.