The Union in the Bundestag wants to put pressure on people to prevent the end of the internal combustion engine in the EU from 2035. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (54, FDP) and the traffic light politicians must ensure that the future of the “climate-friendly” combustion engine is in place Germany in the long term, said the transport policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thomas Bareiß (49), to the German Press Agency in Berlin.
The parliamentary group’s motion calls on the federal government to secure the future of the “climate-friendly” combustion engine in Germany permanently and without an end date. Criticism of the Union’s course came from the environmental organization Greenpeace.
Crucial for Ursula von der Leyen
The EU states and the European Parliament had sealed an end to new cars with diesel and gasoline engines from 2035. Specifically, new cars will no longer be allowed to emit carbon dioxide, as is produced by burning gasoline and diesel. Exceptions are being considered for so-called e-fuels, which do not pollute the atmosphere with additional CO₂.
In the European election campaign, the Union had called for the end of the combustion engine to be withdrawn from 2035. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (65) said on Monday that she wanted to continue to focus on openness to technology and pragmatism. In doing so, she indicated that there could soon be a concrete proposal on how the already decided end to combustion engines could be prevented. The FDP, among others, is demanding this as a prerequisite for supporting von der Leyen, who wants to become Commission President again.
Promotion of e-fuels and other alternatives
Bareiß said that Wissing had promised a lot when it came to combustion engines and had not implemented any of it. What is now needed quickly is clarity and a truly technology-open approach, said the CDU politician. “Germany can do more than just electric cars.”
The Union advocates that all available technical and regulatory options for alternative climate-friendly drives and fuels are used, said Bareiß. “This includes electromobility, but also e-fuels, hydrogen, waste-based biofuels and sustainably certified biofuels from cultivated biomass. E-fuels in particular, which can be used to power combustion engines, can save a lot of CO₂.”
Benjamin Stephan, Greenpeace transport expert, said: “The Union is taking a very dangerous populist course with false claims – for the already catastrophic climate impact of transport and for the future of the German automotive industry. Corporations have invested billions in the decision to switch to e-mobility, new plants are being built, new models are coming onto the market. If the Union now questions one of the central decisions of its own Commission President, the long-term planning of companies will slip again.”