The European Union has announced plans to end the sale of polluting vehicles by 2035, an ambitious goal that would put hybrid cars on the endangered species list and usher in a rapid and dramatic shift to fully electric models.
The European Commission said that it wants to require the auto industry to slash the average emissions of new cars by 55% by 2030. A further reduction to 100% by 2035 effectively means that all new cars registered from that year onward must be zero-emission vehicles.
The United Kingdom has already made a similar commitment. The new 2030 goal would be a significant leap from the current EU target of cutting emissions from new cars by 37.5%, which was only set in December 2018.
The proposed rule changes are part of a much larger package aimed at propelling the European Union towards its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Europe wants to be the first continent to be climate neutral in 2050. “The fossil fuel economy has reached its limits. We want to leave the next generation a healthy planet as well as good jobs and growth that does not hurt our nature,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
