On Tuesday, the nations of the European Union agreed to a deal that will outlaw the sales of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035. The deal was reached after the bloc of nations finally agreed to a German demand that there be a carve-out for cars that run on so-called e-fuels.
E-fuels, theoretically, would be fuel synthesized from captured carbon and mixed with hydrogen gleaned from so-called sustainable energy sources. Large-scale technology to produce e-fuels is not yet available.
So, the climate hysterics are putting the cart before the horse once again. The Wall Street Journal reported that the EU had “backed down” on the issue of fuel-powered cars, but as climate realist Steve Milloy pointed out: “The EU didn’t backtrack on anything. It fooled Germany into signing on to the gas-car ban with an exception for imaginary e-fuels.”
But even that exemption for a fuel technology that doesn’t truly exist yet drew ire from some in the climate cult.
“The automotive sector has wholeheartedly embraced electric cars, rendering the previous debate on the matter absurd and damaging Germany’s credibility,” said Michael Bloss of the German Green Party. “It is now time to make reparations.”
Only Poland voted against the new law, although Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy abstained. Italy was pushing for an exception for biofuels, which was not granted.
In February, the European Parliament voted to approve a law to ban the sale of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. The proposal needs only to be rubber-stamped by the European Commission (EC) before becoming law.
Climate activists claim that fossil fuel-powered vehicles currently account for 25 percent of all CO2 emissions in the EU. The new law will require a 55-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 before moving to zero emissions by 2035.
So, Europeans can expect their automobile markets to begin rapidly transitioning away from all fossil-fuel cars quickly. The auto makers will not wait until 2035.
“Green” politicians were jubilant about the new agreement.
“We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars,” stated EC vice president and head of the EC’s Green Deal Frans Timmermans. “We will work now on getting the CO2 standards for cars regulation adopted as soon as possible.”
Timmermans claimed that the EU “has taken an important step towards zero-emission mobility.” “The direction is clear: in 2035 new cars and vans must have zero emissions,” he added.
Not all of the European Union agrees that an outright ban on fossil-fuel vehicles is the right thing to do.
“Italy believes that the choice of electric should not be the only way to achieve zero emissions in the transition phase,” Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said in the weeks leading up to the decision.
Unfortunately, short of a Brexit-style exit from the European Union, Italy and any other nation opposed to the new law will be stuck with it.
One U.S. state has outshone the EU in their zeal to ban reliable and cheap transportation for the masses. In August of last year, the State of California also pledged to do away with fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035.
“We will be the first jurisdiction in the world to require all new cars to be sold to be alternative fuel cars,” Governor Gavin Newsom bragged to reporters.
Being the first to do something stupid, however, is nothing to brag about. While the California ban will only ruin transportation in California, the EU ban has the potential to destroy an entire continent’s economy.
