German environmental NGOs are in favor of the end of the combustion engine in 2030
In a joint letter, several environmental associations are calling on German car manufacturers not to sell any new vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2030 at the latest. Manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW would instead have to gear their production towards “efficient and low-consumption electric vehicles”, according to a letter signed by the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND), Germanwatch and Deutsche Umwelthilfe, among others.
For hybrid vehicles, the demand for a sales stop applies equally, as the signatories explained. “The SUV models that have been announced are a mistake in terms of climate policy,” write the associations, which also reject synthetic fuels and fuels from biomass in road traffic.
The German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer had only a few days ago announced that the fossil fuel combustion would end by 2035. Contrary to what environmental groups demand, the CSU politician wants to use synthetic fuels. Only the classic combustion engine, which is powered by gasoline or diesel, should be phased out within the next 15 years, said the CSU politician of the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”.
The transport sector – especially road traffic – is responsible for a large part of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Federal Environment Agency, the amount emitted in 2020 was 146 million tons. Experts attribute the reduction of 19 million tons of greenhouse gases compared to the previous year in part to less mobility during the corona pandemic.
The EU Commission wants to propose new and more ambitious emission limit values for cars and vans by the end of 2021. They should come into force in 2025. As a result, the automotive industry fears that the classic combustion engine will end prematurely – exactly what environmental associations are now emphatically demanding.
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