EU, Germany strike deal on fossil fuel car phaseout plan after dispute

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Mar 2023 19:24

Berlin asks Brussels to provide assurances that the law would allow the selling of new cars with combustion engines that run on synthetic fuels.

An exhaust pipe of a car pictured on a street in Berlin, Germany, February 22, 2018 (Reuters)

The European Union and Germany struck a deal on Saturday over the planned phaseout by 2035 of the sale of cars using fossil fuels after a heated row.

For the bloc's 2035 plan to become a "climate neutral" economy by 2025 with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, it was critical to prohibit new sales of fossil fuel cars.

Leading car producer Germany blocked the agreement in an unpreceded move earlier this month last minute even after it was approved under the traditional EU legislative process.

Berlin asked Brussels to provide assurances that the law would allow the selling of new cars with combustion engines that run on synthetic fuels. This was the focus of the breakthrough announced on Saturday.

"We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of fuels in cars," EU environment commissioner Frans Timmermans said on Twitter.

"We will work now on getting the CO2 standards for cars regulation adopted as soon as possible."

Weeks-long negotiations between the European Commission and Germany finally took a turn based on Berlin's desire for a stronger commitment to synthetic fuels.

Germany is still developing the synthetic fuels it wishes to use while producing low-carbon electricity. German manufacturers hope that this will lead to the extended use of combustion engines.

Environmental NGOs argued against the value of synthetic fuels in the automotive sector's transition toward clean energy sources, pointing out that they are too expensive, polluting, and energy-intensive.

Industry experts expressed their doubts over whether synthetic fuels-powered vehicles will be able to compete in the market against electric cars, whose prices are to become cheaper.

Germany's initial move to block the deal triggered some of Berlin's EU partners.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats form a coalition government with the Greens and the liberal FDP party, which originally initiated the move.

The FDP is struggling in national polling and wished to gain the support of voters who wish to ban combustion engines. It is noteworthy that they have lost five regional elections in a row.

Scholz attempted to maintain the unity of the coalition by aligning with the FDP position against those who support clean energy.

Italy, Poland, and Hungary joined Germany as fellow major car manufacturers and formed a small alliance against the combustion engine ban.

Reducing CO2 emissions from new vehicles to zero was the EU's main aim. The industry anticipated that new EU rules will include massively investing in electric vehicles.