EU lawmakers approve effective 2035 ban on new fossil fuel cars

The European Union is blocking gas-powered cars, Reuters reports.

For years, the bloc has been looking for ways to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming by trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. 

In the EU, road transportation alone is responsible for a fifth of the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

More and more people are driving cars, meaning vehicle emissions have gone up in the past three decades. 

Now the EU has officially passed a law that bans the sale of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035.

The law requires carmakers to reach a 100 percent cut in CO2 emissions from new cars sold by 2035. 

That means no one will be allowed to sell fossil fuel-powered cars by 2035. 

But it doesn’t mean anyone who is still driving a gas-powered car, or anyone who sells their old vehicle, by then will get in any trouble. 

The law will also set a 55 percent cut in CO2 emissions for new cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels, much higher than the existing target of 37.5 percent.

Supporters say the bill gives European carmakers a clear timeline to switch production to zero-emission cars. 

It is also expected to help the European Union compete better against the U.S. and China in the electric vehicle space. 

But critics are worried it threatens millions of jobs across the European Union. 

Scientists are saying that 2035 is way too late to get global warming temperatures to pre-industrial levels, which is what is needed to stave off the worst of global warming. 

The EU is trying to take big steps to meet its greenhouse emissions goals. The car CO2 law is part of a broader package of tougher EU climate policies, designed to deliver the bloc’s targets to slash greenhouse gas emissions this decade.

But activists are still calling for more to be done as scientists continue to sound the alarm on climate change.

EU countries agreed with 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.