German lawmaker Peter Liese had told journalists earlier Wednesday that his center-right EPP group did not support the 100% ban, adding that combustion vehicles could still be useful, should technology around low-carbon synthetic fuels improve over time.
« We don’t think that politicians should decide if the electric vehicles or synthetic fuels are the best choice. I personally believe that most consumers will buy an electrical car if we give them the necessary infrastructure and that’s what we need to do, » he said.
He added that it was possible combustion cars using synthetic fuels could in the future become more competitive than electric vehicles. They may also be more realistic for many developing nations in Africa and Asia — which buy European cars — particularly if those countries are unable to move to renewable energy-based economies in the next few decades, Liese said.
Members of the European Parliament voted Wednesday to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035, in what would be one of the world’s strongest laws to phase out gasoline vehicles, if approved by the European Council.
While the measure must still be debated by the Council and passed into law, the parliamentary vote is seen as the most crucial step in the process.
