A New Start
Many people were surprised when EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came out in favor of re-evaluating the EU decision to ban combustion engines. In 2023, the EU Commission proposed to allow registrations only of new cars and light commercial vehicles with zero CO2 tailpipe emissions from 2035 onward. And then in February 2024, von der Leyen emphasized how important it was to be open to different technologies and to offer consumers choices. The industry should also have the choice of what to invest in. The tone of the discussion has definitely changed.
I am pleased about this development, and I hope that we succeed in combining climate action and economic growth. But the legislators need to change their approach and start laying down frameworks rather than banning specific technologies. If the law gives the industry sufficient freedom to act, it can focus its innovative abilities on the combustion engine and develop new solutions. The customers will decide on the basis of their own requirements which products will be successful on the global market. This means that it will be within our power to take action on the climate while also maintaining current levels of prosperity.
Electric vehicles alone will not bring about a rapid defossilization of the mass market and they cannot meet everyone's requirements. In addition, we need renewable molecular fuels that can be blended with fossil fuels to reduce the CO2 emissions of the existing fleet. This is the most effective solution for the 240 million vehicles in Europe and the 1.4 billion in the rest of the world. The imminent ban on combustion engines has put a stop to the necessary investment. Now we need a new start.