Thee EU Parliament has agreed to ban private ICEVs from 2035. That's the reason that most European automakers have done serious work on EVs in recent years.
But it's up to the EU nations to implement the ban, and one of them won't play ball. A year ago, it looked like everything was falling into place. Then, at the last minute, Germany blew things up. They insisted that the EU carve out an exception so that their hidebound and reactionary automakers coiuld carry on building the obsolete piston-engine vehicles they love. They wanted the EU to allow something that didn't - and still doesn't - actually exist in the real world: "E-fuels," synthetic fuels made from electrolyzed hydrogen and CO2 (somehow) captured from the atmosphere. It's not tough to see the gross inefficiency inherent in such fuels. https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/13/what-are-e-fuels-and-can-they- really-make-europes-cars-emissions-free or https://v.gd/nvzLD1 But VW, BMW, and Mercedes have their hands thrust deeply into politicians' ... uh, never mind. So, sigh, the EU parliament said OK, we'll let you have your E-fuels. When will they ever learn? You can't give knuckle-draggers a millimeter. Once they have that, they insist on a centimeter, then a meter, then a kilometer. So now: > German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is resurrecting the debate > on the European Union´s decision to ban sales of new combustion-engine > cars in 2035, seeking more exceptions than the one granted for fuels > made using renewable electricity and carbon dioxide captured from the > atmosphere. > > "We should go further and generally focus on technological openness," > Lindner told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "Synthetic liquid > fuels and biofuels are also a way to be climate friendly." https://europe.autonews.com/environmentemissions/germanys-finance-chief- pushes-engines-eu-ban-looms-2035 or https://v.gd/1rxmO8 Germany also axed all of its EV subsidies at the end of 2023. Unfortunately, a new study shows that the general EU public isn't on board with the 2035 ban either. The Hertie School's Jacques Delors Centre asked 15,000 voters in Germany, France, and Poland which of 38 "green" policies they supported, and how strongly. The ICEV ban ranked dead last in all 3 nations. http://evdl.org/docs/JDC_EU_voters_climate_preferences.pdf Not surprising, but disappointing. While they may not like the ban, they seem to like EVs. EVs amounted to about 20% of vehicle sales in 2023. So maybe the die is already cast, no matter what Germany does. I'm also rather looking forward to seeing certain automakers struggle in a future where most sales are the EVs that they didn't bother to invest in. Maybe they'll be able to survive by selling their obsolete ICEVs in the US and (other?) third world nations. David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], "Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. -- Charles Babbage = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
