EU approves ban on new fossil fuel car sales beginning in 2035


The EU has approved a law banning the sale of new gas and diesel cars in the EU starting in 2035. The deal, agreed upon back in October, received the official stamp of approval on Tuesday, marking climate action "without precedent," as described by chief executive of BMW Oliver Zipse.
The agreement will cut 100 percent of carbon emissions from automobiles starting in 2035 and would cut them by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 2021, reports Reuters. "We will no longer, or almost no longer, have petrol or diesel cars on our roads in 2050 ... it is a victory for our planet and our populations," remarked Karima Delli, president of the EU transport committee.
While some like Delli view the deal as a "historic vote for the ecological transition," others like Jens Gieseke, a member of the EU parliament and center-right European People's Party are worried about whether electric cars are actually cheaper than those with combustion engines. Gieseke also argued "to let the market decide what technology is best to reach our goals," citing that the transition could result in wide-scale job loss.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Another concern is that the EU will fall victim to the "Havana effect," meaning that the streets will be flooded with old fossil fuel cars after 2035 because new electric ones aren't affordable, reports The Washington Post. However, car manufacturers in Europe have agreed to invest in technology to make electric vehicles more accessible.
"Make no mistake, the European automobile industry is up to the challenge of providing these zero-emission cars and vans," remarked Zipse in October.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Bacteria can turn plastic waste into a painkiller
Under the radar The process could be a solution to plastic pollution
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b