Tug-of-War Between Italy and Germany over Green Deal
The Berlin government is against the idea of postponing the ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines as early as 2035
Germany is resisting the Italian proposal to revise European Union plans to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines starting in 2035.
The German government does not want to weaken the climate regulations that are part of the CO2 regulation. Responding to the warning from Italy’s Minister of Business and Production “Made in Italy” Adolfo Urso (pictured) that the ban could put European manufacturers in a “serious crisis and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs,” German Deputy Economy Minister Sven Giegold said that “the overall goal is to phase out internal combustion engines, not even those powered by the so-called ‘new biofuels,’ which, if carefully calculated, are not climate neutral and produce greenhouse gases from soil. Yes, we need technological neutrality, but we also need zero-carbon solutions for cars.”
Earlier in an interview with the Financial Times, Urso promised to “ask Brussels to delay and modify the ban to allow the sale of synthetic and biofuel vehicles.”
But Germany disagrees: “For us,” Giegold said, “climate targets are fundamental, and we already see a great danger in the car market that European car manufacturers will be at a disadvantage because of competition from electric cars from other countries.
However, an audit is planned, and we certainly ask – as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said – that this audit takes place, but it requires data collection. So, we had a friendly conversation with Minister Urso, but we do not hold the same view. We have no intention of revising the 2035 target,” Giegold concluded.