The European Parliament has voted to set a 100% reduction target in vehicular CO2 emissions from 2035 onward, accelerating the shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles.
The vote will force original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to find technological solutions fast. Solutions could range from electric to hydrogen vehicles to become fully sustainable.
Dr Jose Pereira, Director, Automotive & Transportation at Frost & Sullivan, said the new target also signals to EU member states that they must prioritize their electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The new market will see more than 10 million electric vehicles sold every year, and the charging infrastructure will be key to ensuring the feasibility of the transition.
Dr Pereira said the thinking behind the ambitious 100% reduction target is to be such a high level as to force multiple stakeholders to work together to find solutions.
Some of the challenges they will face in their mission to deliver these goals will be securing the raw and processed materials needed to make sufficient batteries for electric vehicles and ensuring that they remain affordable for consumers.
Work will also need to be done to develop a recycling infrastructure to ensure that this transition from the outgoing combustion engine to electric vehicles will be more sustainable for a lifetime. The development of new circular economy concepts will be key to ensuring this transition is done as sustainably as possible.
Fredrick Royan, Vice President of Sustainability & Circular Economy at Frost & Sullivan, said, ‘Estimates from the European Commission highlight that vehicles account for 20% of carbon emissions, with passenger cars and light commercial vehicles accounting for 12% and 2.5%, respectively. The EU Green Deal sets a target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and a key part of the strategy will be climate mitigation plans for vehicle emission reductions. Earlier this year, 100 cities across the EU signed up to become carbon neutral by 2030.
‘Data plays a crucial role in measuring the carbon emissions at the city level and at a much granular level in real-time. This provides a better understanding of the emission sources and helps ascertain the most appropriate mitigation measures and solutions. The conventional methods of emissions monitoring have been time-consuming and provide datasets that are not accurate or up to date, limiting the value of the data in developing and deploying climate mitigation measures of emission reductions.’
