The German government said on Tuesday it would not support a European Union (EU) ban on the sale of new combustion-engine cars from 2035 after failing to get guarantees for a synthetic fuel exemption.
Last year, EU member states reached a preliminary agreement that commits car manufacturers to cut new car emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 2021 levels and by 100% in 2035.
The plan, which is part of the public bloc’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, effectively means that the sale of new cars that run on hydrocarbon fuels such as oil will be banned, according to the Associated Press (AP). .
Some countries, such as Germany, have asked the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, to create an exemption for cars that burn so-called “e-fuel”. [combustíveis sintéticos, em português]arguing that they can be produced using renewable energy and carbon captured from the air so that no more climate-damaging emissions enter the atmosphere.
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said on Tuesday that the European Commission has not made any proposals and therefore Germany will refrain from supporting the ban, which is being prepared by the EU.
Volker Wissing stressed that synthetic fuels need to be produced in large quantities as quickly as possible to meet the demand for cars sold before 2035, as well as heavy vehicles, ships and aircraft.
“The EU Commission should propose a regulation allowing internal combustion engines to be registered after 2035 if they can only run on synthetic fuels,” the German minister told reporters in Berlin in a statement.
The issue has sparked an ideological split within the government between Wissing’s Liberal Democratic Party and the pro-environmental Green Party, which supports a total ban on internal combustion engines.
Germany’s main opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), also opposed an EU-wide ban on combustion-engine cars, warning that it would hurt the country’s valuable auto industry.
Critics say battery-electric technology is better suited for passenger cars, and precious synthetic fuels should only be used where there are no other options, such as aviation.
Benjamin Stefan of Greenpeace said research shows that with the same amount of electricity, a battery-powered car will travel five times as far as a synthetic-fuel car.
“This inefficient and expensive fuel will not matter for cars, especially for new cars in 2035,” he said, adding that the German auto industry would be better off investing in electric vehicles.