The European Parliament has given the final green light to the agreement, reached by the EU Council in November 2022, on stopping the production of polluting vehicles from 2035 in line with the EU’s ambitious climate goals. The measure is part of the European “Fit for 55” package, a series of reforms to reduce the environmental impact of strategic economic sectors. The ban on the registration of polluting gasoline and diesel vehicles was approved by 340 votes to 279 with 21 abstentions.
The approved legislation requires new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles to produce no CO2 emissions from 2035 crucial to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Intermediate emission reduction steps for 2030 were set at 55 per cent for passenger cars and 50 per cent for vans. Manufacturers responsible for small production volumes over an entire calendar year – 1,000 to 10,000 new cars or 1,000 to 22,000 new vans – will be eligible for a waiver until the end of 2035 while those below the threshold will remain exempt from the constraints. Every two years, starting at the end of 2025, the Commission will publish a report to assess progress on zero-emission mobility in road transport. To make Europe switch to less or no-polluting vehicles, a mechanism is planned to provide incentives for the purchase of electric or hybrid cars, so as to meet the new demands for clean mobility.
After the final vote in the Parliament, the EU Council will have to formally approve the text before it is published in the Official Journal.
Stop the sale of polluting vehicles, then. Although to be fair, simply driving them in some Italian cities has already been more difficult for a few years. In Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia Romagna, in fact, the Move-In project, the acronym for MOnitoraggio dei VEicoli Inquinanti is in effect, which limits and regulates through the Black Box access in areas subject to traffic blocks even for vehicles of old registration. In this regard, Viasat is the technological partner of the three regions for the installation of Black Boxes inside the vehicle through a network of contracted installers and for the collection and processing of driving and mileage data, which is essential to be able to apply for a waiver from the current blocks.
