As expected, the ministers of the 27 EU Member States finally gave their final green light on Tuesday to new CO2 emission standards for new cars and light commercial vehicles, from 2030 and then 2035. This text presented as meaning the “end of heat engines“from 2035, at least for new cars, will leave the door open to certain thermal engines beyond this date: those running only on synthetic fuels, a technology still under development and with uncertain potential. Exit, on the other hand, gasoline or diesel engines, with exceptions for niche markets (luxury cars).
The final approval of the Council of the EU puts an end to an unexpected saga initiated by Germany, which had caused an indefinite postponement of the vote a few weeks ago. Berlin has obtained from the European Commission that it works without delay on a delegated act around the registration, after 2035, of vehicles running exclusively on “neutral CO2” fuels. Either thermal engine cars, “but with an (electronic) device so that they refuse to start if they detect that it is gasoline or diesel in the tank, and not synthetic fuels“, indicates Tuesday a European official, who draws a parallel with the “alcolock”.
Finally, for the Commission, it is essentially a question of clarifying, in a more formal way, an element which was already mentioned in the agreement resulting from the trilogue negotiations: the “Commission will present a proposal for the registration after 2035 of vehicles running exclusively on CO2-neutral fuels in accordance with EU law, outside the scope of fleet standards“. The framework approved by the European Parliament in February after compromise with the Council of the EU does not change: the CO2 emissions of new cars must be reduced by at least 55% (50% for vans) from 2030 (compared to 2021 and its limits of 95g/km for cars and 147g/km for vans), and 100% in 2035.
At the request of Germany, the Commission aims to have adopted, for “fall 2024“, a delegated act giving a place to the famous “e-fuels“. “A tight but doable schedule“, assures a European source, who underlines that such a type of text does not allow to do anything. There is no question of modifying the key aspects of the legislation, for example. If the delegated act is rejected (Parliament and Council may oppose it), it will be necessary to go through a revision of the legislation approved on Tuesday. But here too, this eventuality is already provided for in the text, which mentions that the Commission will evaluate the regulation and its objectives in 2026, a timing “which could coincide“.