EU countries to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035

The European Council announced that member states have approved the law that will introduce strict carbon emission standards for cars and light commercial vehicles by 2035.

By law, automakers will zero their carbon emissions by 2035. Thus, new cars with internal combustion engines, including gasoline and diesel, that emit carbon, will not be able to be sold in EU countries from the said date.

In addition, the 2030 emission reduction target will be 55 percent for cars and 50 percent for pickup trucks.

A group of countries led by Germany opposed the regulation, which was adopted in the European Parliament (EP) General Assembly last month and needs to be officially approved by EU member states to enter into force.

To support the plan, Germany had asked the EU for exemptions from renewable energy and synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels, produced by capturing carbon dioxide in the air. A consensus was reached on this issue as a result of negotiations between the EU Commission and Germany.

Germany had received assurances from the EU for the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines running on synthetic fuels.

After this stage, the law will enter into force after its publication in the EU Official Journal.