The decision ofeliminate the ban on the sale of combustion engine vehicles The announcement that the new regulations will be in place from January 1, 2035, has caught many off guard. However, this announcement has been brewing for some time in the ongoing discussions about environmental and industrial policies. In fact, the European Commission's (EC) directive to phase out the sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles was launched in July 2021 and definitively approved by the European Parliament in February 2023. The Commission has now decided to amend the directive, reducing the initial target of a 100% reduction in CO₂ emissions for new vehicles to 90%. This change will allow for the limited sale of combustion engine vehicles beyond 2035, thus marking a relaxation of the European Green Deal.
Ideally, environmental and industrial policies should go hand in hand in a virtuous cycle leading to the complete decarbonization of transport, but we are bitterly realizing that this path is not without its challenges. The fact is that the target, now set at achieving a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions, has been relaxed.2 According to calculations by the European Commission itself, this means that up to 25% of the cars sold in 2035 (around 2.5 million units across the EU) will emit CO2.2.
From the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia, we want to offer a more in-depth perspective than the initial, simplistic interpretation that claims "Europe is abandoning its climate goals." First and foremost, such a statement is completely false, since a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions...2 The emissions target for newly marketed vehicles in 2035 remains the most ambitious goal of any region in the world. It should be noted that environmental mobility policies can also be useful in other areas, such as restricting access for the dirtiest vehicles to city centers through low-emission zones, which improve the air quality we breathe. Furthermore, from an engineering perspective, opening the door to cars burning renewable fuels—which means emitting CO2—is a significant step towards reducing emissions.2 that has previously been captured from the air, with a net-zero emissions result—implies greater technological possibilities for moving towards the goal. Currently, these technologies are expensive, but this is where scientists and engineers come in, with their capacity to create value and technological progress. Broadening the technological spectrum without losing sight of decarbonization is no small feat, especially in the current context: with Chinese competition in electric vehicles, which are superior to European ones in both technology and cost. This self-inflicted wound of zero emissions by 2035 could have been anticipated seven or eight years ago. Now the course is being corrected. We hope in time.
Despite this analysis, which differs somewhat from what has been presented so far, we also cannot ignore the criticism of a hesitant and disjointed political process, like the one that usually accompanies European policies in any field. Accustomed to simplified messages, consumers are now more confused than ever: "Do I still need to get rid of my combustion engine vehicle?" "Should I stop thinking about buying an electric vehicle?" These policy shifts every five years give citizens the impression that there is no solid political leadership. "The world has changed, and now there's more protectionism," they'll say. But if we listened to those who truly know about industrial policy—instead of ignoring them—before making bold decisions, we would save ourselves many costs that the industry needs to invest in the vehicle of the future: clean, autonomous, and connected. Oh! And if possible, also European.
