Belgium and eight other countries are asking the European Commission for a common end date across the EU for the sale of new petrol / diesel cars.
A group of nine countries among which Belgium has signed an “appeal” to European Commission, asking him to set precise deadlines for the whole EU to gradually ban the sale of new cars diesel or gasoline engine. Belgium wants to be a leader in the shift towards more sustainable road transport and is here on the initiative, with Denmark and the Netherlands, communicated on Wednesday the Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten and the Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet.
The two ministers, from environmental ranks, signed the document on behalf of the Belgian government. Austria, Ireland, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta also support this call, they say.
Multiply infrastructure for electricity
“Setting a clear course at European level will allow the manufacturers concerned to innovate in favor of ‘zero emission’ cars at affordable cost.”
The hybrid and electric cars are gaining more and more ground on the European new vehicle sales market. But he still missing a binding date to which it would be prohibited to sell a new personal vehicle based solely on a diesel or gasoline engine. Such a date must be set at European level, immediately impose stricter standards on manufacturers in terms of CO₂ emissions and accelerate the multiplication of charging stations necessary for electric cars, say the signatories.
“Setting a clear course at European level will allow the manufacturers concerned toinnovate in favor of affordable ‘zero emission’ cars“, explains Georges Gilkinet. Beyond the impact on climate and air quality, such a constraint should indeed have the effect oflower the purchase price of electric vehicles, “one of the current major obstacles” to their breakthrough, underlines Tinne Van der Straeten.
There would be a clear incentive to invest in research and development, and a welcome stimulation of competition in this market, supported the ministers. For avoid distortion of competition within the EU, it is also necessary to act on this scale.
The pioneering United Kingdom
The Japan is already under discussion to ban the sale of new gasoline or diesel vehicles in fifteen years, as part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (a target also pursued by the EU). The California has already taken the plunge, where such a ban is scheduled for 2035. London recently made similar announcements, advancing to 2030 its goal of stopping the sale of gasoline and diesel cars and utility vehicles.
