(Corrects year in second paragraph)
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The European Parliament on
Tuesday formally approved a law to effectively ban the sale of
new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035,
aiming to speed up the switch to electric vehicles and combat
climate change.
The landmark rules will require that by 2035 carmakers must
achieve a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars sold, which
would make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered
vehicles in the 27-country bloc.
The law will also set a 55% cut in CO2 emissions for new
cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels, much higher than the
existing target of a 37.5%.
"The operating costs of an electric vehicle are already
lower than the operating costs of a vehicle with an internal
combustion engine," Jan Huitema, the parliament's lead
negotiator on the rules, said, adding that it was crucial to
bring more affordable electric vehicles to consumers.
EU countries agreed the deal with lawmakers last October,
but still need to formally rubber stamp the rules before they
can take effect. Final approval is expected in March.
New vans must comply with a 100% CO2 cut by 2035, and a 50%
cut by 2030, compared with 2021 levels.
Many carmakers in Europe have announced investments in
electrification.
Volkswagen chief executive Thomas Schaefer said
last year that from 2033 the brand will only produce electric
cars in Europe.
Still, the EU law met resistance from some industry and
countries when it was proposed in July 2021. As a result, the
final deal includes some flexibilities including that small
carmakers producing less than 10,000 vehicles per year can
negotiate weaker targets until 2036.
The car CO2 law is part a broader package of tougher EU
climate policies, designed to deliver the bloc's targets to
slash greenhouse gas emissions this decade.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Mike Harrison)
