Their resistance to the offered e-fuel compromise exposes the fighters for technological neutrality in the climate-friendly transport transition.
For weeks, Brussels struggled to find a new compromise for phasing out petrol and diesel for new cars from 2035, which had already been agreed in the autumn. The Austrian Chancellor also jumped in at the last minute to advocate for technology neutrality by switching to climate-neutral private transport, as did German Transport Minister Volker Wissing.
The argument for not relying solely on electric mobility was understandable. The demand to also give synthetic fuels a chance was understandable. But maintaining the resistance now that the EU Commission has made improvements and is proposing to allow the sale of e-fuel cars from 2035 is absurd. Or rather: revealing. Because what are Wissing and company facing? Because the compromise provides that new combustion engines, also known to be suitable for e-fuel, will automatically switch off from 2035 when refueling with gasoline or diesel.
So it’s not about technology neutrality and it’s not about making transport climate neutral. Critics of the end of combustion engines are only interested in a backdoor to the later use of gasoline and diesel. So that everything stays as it is.
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