The Parliament of the European Union has formally approved a law this week that will effectively ban the sale of any new gas or diesel cars in the members states of the European Union starting in 2035. The new law is an attempt to speed up the transition to electric vehicles that climate change might be better mitigated.
The rules of the new law state that carmakers selling their vehicles in the European Union will need to achieve a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars sold in the member states. In addition, by 2030, all new cars will need to reach a 55% cut in their CO2 emissions as compared to levels in 2021, which is higher than the previously existing target of 37.5% reductions. The final approval of these rules is expected to go through in March of this year. Should it move ahead unimpeded, it will be an important part of increased efforts by the European Union to meet greenhouse gas emission targets.
The progress on this new law comes at a time when a number of carmakers in Europe have indicated expanding investments in electric vehicle production. One major example is that of Volkswagen, which has indicated that starting in 2033 only produce electric cars in Europe.
The countries of the European Union are not the only ones setting goals to transition to electric cars in the near future either. For example, in the United States, California has also set a target of 2035 despite the earliest nationwide proposal set for 2045. As electric cars, and the infrastructure that supports them, become more affordable, these transitions might well come smoother and faster that pessimists have warned.
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