The Energy Minister of Italy, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, stated that Italy plans to vote against the European Union’s proposal to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 12 years, as reported by Reuters on February 28. The European Parliament approved new regulations this month that would require car manufacturers to achieve a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars sold by 2035. The law aims at accelerating the transition to electric vehicles and fighting against climate change. The new rules, which are considered a milestone, would effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union by 2035. The law will also establish a much higher target of a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars sold from 2030 compared to 2021 levels, surpassing the current objective of a 37.5% reduction.This would effectively make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the 27-country bloc. Italy intends to express its opposition to the proposed regulation at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels.

While EU countries agreed to ban thermal engine cars in October, the rules still require formal approval before they can be implemented, which is expected to happen in March. The Italian government wants to collaborate with France and Germany to slow down the process of implementing EU laws to reduce car and truck emissions, and believes that electric cars should not be the only solution for achieving zero emissions during the transition phase.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/italy-vote-against-eu-plan-ban-thermal-engine-cars-2023-02-28/

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-lawmakers-approve-effective-2035-ban-new-fossil-fuel-cars-2023-02-14/