Germany announced on Tuesday 28 February that it would oppose the provisional political agreement reached by the EU Council and the European Parliament on stricter CO2 emission performance standards for new cars and vans (see EUROPE 13053/1) if the European Commission does not present a proposal to allow ‘e-fuels’ after 2035.
“Germany will only accept the agreement if the Commission makes a proposal on how internal combustion engine vehicles running solely on e-fuels can be registered even after 2035”, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing told German media outlet Bild Zeitung on 28 February.
“The Commission should present a proposal on how e-fuels can be used or how combustion engines running on climate-neutral fuels can be managed”, said German State Secretary for Transport Michael Theurer the day before at an informal meeting of Member State transport ministers in Stockholm (see EUROPE 13130/9).
Those who argue for the possibility of using e-fuels after 2035 base their arguments on several factors, including the fact that they are produced from captured CO2 emissions and hydrogen, making them emission neutral.
Potential German opposition would come on top of possible opposition from several other Member States, such as Poland, Bulgaria or Italy, and would thus raise serious doubts as to whether the agreement could be validated by the EU Council.
As a reminder, this interim political agreement calls for a 55% reduction in emissions for new vehicles by 2030 and a 50% reduction for vans from 2021 levels. By 2035, this reduction target will be increased to 100%, meaning that no new combustion engine vehicles will be sold by that date. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)