European Union negotiators secured an agreement with member states on the commission’s proposal to stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035. .“With these targets, we create clarity for the car industry and stimulate innovation and investments for car manufacturers,” said EU Rapporteur Jan Huitema in a Thursday press release. .“I am pleased that today we reached an agreement with the council on an ambitious revision of the targets for 2030 and supported a 100% target for 2035.”.The release said this deal sends a clear signal ahead of the United Nations COP27 Climate Change Conference that the EU is serious about adopting concrete measures to reach more ambitious targets set out in the EU Climate Law. .The EU Parliament voted to introduce a methodology for the assessment and data reporting of full life-cycle carbon emissions of cars and vans sold in Europe. The methodology will be presented to the European Commission by 2025, accompanied by laws where needed. .It will publish a report by the end of 2025 and every two years after to track progress on zero-emission roads. The report will cover the impact on consumers and employment, the progress in energy efficiency and affordability of zero- and low-emission vehicles, and information on the market for used vehicles..Under the deal, the release said existing EU funding will be channeled to transitioning to zero-emission vehicles and related technologies. It said the incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles will be revised with a higher benchmark to ensure it's aligned with current sales trends and able to bring affordable zero-emissions cars on the EU market. .The release went on to say manufacturers responsible for producing 1,000 to 10,000 new cars or 1,000 to 22,000 vans might be eligible for an exemption until the end of 2035. It added manufacturers producing less than 1,000 new vehicles per year continue to be exempt. .Existing rules for labelling of fuel economy and carbon emissions for cars will be reviewed by the end of 2024..“This is crucial to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and make clean driving more affordable,” said Huitema. .California announced in 2020 it was taking steps to ban gas vehicles in 15 years. .READ MORE: California to ban gas-powered vehicles in 14 years; end of fracking looms.California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order requiring all new cars sold to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and offered his support to a ban on fracking by oil companies..There are 26 million gas vehicles on the roads in California. They account for 40% of greenhouse gases in the state.
