Climate, the EU challenge: stop petrol and diesel cars from 2035

In the EU from 2035 only new cars with zero polluting emissions will be registered. So stop with petrol and diesel. The European Commission proposes, in the Fit for 55 package presented today in Brussels, to reduce the average emissions of new cars by 55% by 2030 and by 100% by 2035, compared to the levels of 2021. If the proposal is approved, in Europe will be archived the internal combustion engine, one of the inventions, attributed to the Lucchesi Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci, who have had a more profound impact in the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: “Zero emissions means zero emissions – says a senior EU official – if it is invented a zero emission internal combustion engine, fine, but so far it hasn’t been invented. ” THE MOTORCYCLES ARE NOT TOUCHED FOR NOW The Fit for 55 package offers interventions in the various transport sectors. In detail, a review of the carbon dioxide emissions standards for cars and vans is planned to accelerate the production and sale of zero-emission vehicles. For the moment, motorcycles and mopeds are not touched, because they have relatively little impact and because the technology is not yet mature, but “their time will also come”, predicts a senior EU official. Then there is a new regulation concerning aviation, Refuel Aviation, which provides for a transition from fossil fuels to sustainable fuels, in particular synthetic ones. AIMS FOR SUSTAINABLE FUELS FOR AVIATION Contrary to what happens in the car sector, zero-emission aircraft are not yet available in aviation: the efforts to decarbonise then focus on fuels and Saf (Sustainable Aviation Fuels), sustainable fuels, for the Commission they allow “significant reductions” in emissions. The regulation aims to incentivize the production of these fuels: airlines will be obliged to refuel aircraft with fuels that include a part of Saf when taking off from an EU airport. Fuel suppliers will be obliged to include more SAFs in aviation fuels, according to a progressive calendar: 2% by 2025, 5% by 2030, 20% by 2035, 32% by 2040, 38% by 2045 and 63% by 2050. ALSO THE MARITIME SECTOR WILL HAVE TO POLLUTE LESS Advanced biofuels and synthetic fuels produced with clean energy are encouraged in particular, in line with the requirements of the Renewables Directive. On the other hand, biofuels from crops are not encouraged, for reasons of sustainability. Neither hydrogen nor electricity are included: for the Commission these are promising options to decarbonise aviation, but are expected to be available only for short-haul flights and not before 2035. There is also a proposal for the maritime sector, which aims to stimulate the use of clean fuels and zero-emission propulsion technologies, inter alia by setting an upper limit for the greenhouse gas emissions of ships stopping in EU ports, regardless of flag flying. FOR EVERY ELECTRIC CAR, 1 KW OF RECHARGE INSTALLED The regulation on infrastructure for alternative fuels, then, should guarantee the creation of a refueling network adequate to the expected replacement of the vehicle fleet. As regards private vehicles, the Commission is counting on the fact that more and more electric cars will arrive on the market and expects the prices for electric cars, which are quite high today, to drop. According to the Commission’s assessments, zero-emission cars would benefit all income groups, “including and especially low-income families”, for which the cost of fuel is an important item in the monthly budget. By 2030, the Commission expects at least 30 million electric vehicles to be on the road in the EU. The objectives by country, commensurate with the size of the car fleet, will ensure that 1 kilowatt of charging capacity is installed for each electric car registered.