The new black-green state government in Baden-Württemberg plans significant revisions to the European Union’s requirement that prohibits the new registration of conventional combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035. This position stems from the coalition agreement of the two parties, which is scheduled for presentation to the public on Wednesday, according to reports from the “Handelsblatt”.
According to the agreement, the guiding principle is to ensure that “the car of the future rolls off the production line in Baden-Württemberg”. While electric mobility is acknowledged as the central future technology, the coalition aims to operate with “alternative climate-friendly drive concepts, climate-friendly fuels, and complementary transitional technologies, such as highly efficient combustion engines, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles with range extenders”. Notably, the coalition agreement does not mention the target year of 2035.
This stance represents a divergence from the German Green Party. The federal Greens have consistently opposed any weakening or postponement of the 2035 goal. Furthermore, while the Greens and the CDU have agreed to maintain the goal of achieving climate neutrality for Baden-Württemberg by 2040, they also wish to establish “greater flexibility in the paths to achieving these targets”.
The stricter fleet emission limits were part of the EU’s “Fit for 55” package, which steered the continent towards limiting climate change warming to slightly over two degrees Celsius-a significant improvement from the previous path projected to cause over four degrees of global warming. Under the current EU fleet standards, all newly registered cars sold across the EU by a manufacturer must currently emit an average of 93.6 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Under the established plan, this emission limit should gradually decrease to zero grams per kilometer. Consequently, the sale of new combustion engine vehicles would be indirectly prohibited starting in 2035. The agreement also notes that alternative fuels, plug-in hybrids, and range extenders are not suitable for achieving zero CO2 emissions.
The European Commission recently proposed a reform of these fleet emission limits. This reform would allow for both an easing of the manufacturer’s fleet limits-requiring only a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions for new car fleets by 2035-and the introduction of new mandatory goals for the decarbonization of corporate fleets.