Our transport minister is asking for the ban on internal combustion engines to be postponed. A common sense request
Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has asked the European Commission's Transport Commissioner and his French and German counterparts to review the ban on the sale of ICE vehicles which is expected to come into effect in 2035.
Salvini said the proposed ban on the sale of fossil fuel vehicles "makes no economic, environmental or social sense".
Salvini's stance on the ban on the sale of ICE vehicles echoes that of automakers and the European automobile industry association, ACEA, in the summer of 2021. At the time, ACEA insisted that ICE vehicles still had a vital role to play in the transition to greener energy. In September, Salvini also suggested that Italian citizens should vote on the issue.
The EU has required automakers to cut CO2 emissions by 100% by 2035. But this year, those who believe that fossil fuels are also needed in the energy transition have been encouraged by the energy crisis that is tightening the Europe. With electricity prices hitting new highs, some countries are starting to rethink their ambitious EV targets.
Swiss officials, for example, are considering banning electric vehicles, at least for this winter. Switzerland often sees a decline in electricity generation during the winter months, and most of it comes from hydroelectric power, which runs out in the winter. Switzerland usually imports a significant amount of electricity from its neighboring countries, France and Germany, but they are facing an energy crisis due to a number of factors, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the decline in nuclear power generation in France. EV charging can put further strain on the electricity grid, so banning vehicles – while seemingly going against long-term green transition plans – seems like a natural conclusion.
While it could be argued that this winter is unique and that Switzerland has considered a ban on electric vehicles in the short term and that it may not interfere with Europe's long-term transition goals, one wonders whether systems global electric companies are able to support such an ambitious goal. Hence a request for prudence and common sense in a Europe which, unique in the world and in a secondary position, seems blinded by green madness.
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The article Our transport minister is asking for the ban on internal combustion engines to be postponed. A request for common sense comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-nostro-ministro-dei-trasporti-chiede-il-rinvio-del-bando-ai-motori-a-combustione-interna-una-richiesta-di-buon-senso/ on Wed, 07 Dec 2022 11:00:37 +0000.