Goodbye gasoline cars? EU lawmakers vote to ban new sales from 2035

Traffic in Paris, France, on May 12, 2020. The European Parliament now supports the European Commission’s goal of a 100% cut in emissions from new passenger cars and vans by 2035.

European lawmakers have voted to ban the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans in the EU from 2035, which is a significant shot in the arm to the region's green goals.

The European Commission had proposed the plans for the European Parliament to vote on. The proposal received votes against it.

The European Union's goal of cutting emissions from new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles by 100% in 2035 is closer to becoming a reality. The goal is to reduce emissions by 50% for vans and 45% for cars.

According to the Commission, passenger cars and vans make up 12% and 2.5% of the EU's total emissions. The plans with the bloc's 27 member states will now be discussed by the European Parliament.

The United Kingdom wants to stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by the year 2030. All new cars and vans will have to have zero tailpipe emissions by the end of the 20th century. The United Kingdom left the EU in 2020.

The result of Wednesday's vote was welcomed by a Dutch MEP. He said he was thrilled that the European Parliament backed an ambitious revision of the targets for the year 2030.

Alex Keynes is the clean vehicles manager at Transport and Environment. The deadline means the last fossil fuel cars will be sold by the year 2035, giving us a fighting chance of avoiding runaway climate change.

The plans will allow the car industry to ramp up production of electric vehicles, which will drive down prices for drivers, according to him.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association was concerned that the parliament voted to set a 100% CO2 target.

Oliver Zipse, who is the president of the ACEA and CEO of BMW, said his industry was in the midst of a wide push for electric vehicles.

Zipse said that any long-term regulation that goes beyond this decade is premature. Halfway in order to define post-2030 targets is needed.

According to the EU, it wants to be carbon neutral by the year 2050. The EU wants net greenhouse gas emissions to be cut in half by the year 2030.

This plan has not been easy to realize. A revision to the EU Emissions Trading System was rejected by the European Parliament.

Three draft laws in the Fit for 55 package are currently on hold, according to the European Parliament.