[ad_1]
GLASGOW — At least six major automakers and 31 national governments, including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo, announced Wednesday sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles worldwide as “leading markets” by 2040 and by 2035.
But some of the world’s largest automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen and the Nissan-Renault alliance, did not join the legally non-binding commitment. And the governments of the US, China and Japan, three of the largest auto markets, also abstained.
NS announcementDuring the international climate talks here, it was hailed by climate advocates as another sign that the days of the combustion engine might soon be numbered. Electric vehicles continue to break new global sales records each year, and major auto companies have recently started investing tens of billions of dollars re-equip its factories and produce new battery cars and light trucks.
“While we need to make sure they meet these commitments, it’s really important,” said Margo Oge, a former US air quality official who now advises both environmental groups and auto companies. “This really tells us that these companies and their boards are recognizing that the future is electric.”
Automakers that signed the pledge accounted for roughly a quarter of global sales in 2019.
Countries participating in the coalition included the United Kingdom, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The addition of India was particularly notable as it is the world’s fourth largest auto market and has not previously made a commitment to eliminating emissions from its cars on a specific timeline.
For the first time, including other countries that have pledged to sell only zero-emission vehicles by a specific date Turkey, Croatia, Ghana and Rwanda.
California and Washington State also signed the commitment. Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Saying that only new zero-emission vehicles will be sold in the state by 2035, regulators have yet to issue rules for this to happen. Washington has never made such a formal commitment before.
The agreement states that automakers will “work to achieve sales of 100 percent zero-emissions new cars and vans in leading markets by 2035 or before, supported by a business strategy appropriate to achieving that goal, while we help build customer demand.”
Zero-emission vehicles may include plug-in electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, although they struggle to gain market share. Electric cars can still generate emissions indirectly if, for example, they are charged with power from coal or natural gas-fired power plants. But they generally considered cleaner than internal combustion engine vehicles and they do not create pollution from their exhausts.
Two dozen vehicle fleet operators, including Uber and LeasePlan, have also joined the coalition, promising to operate only zero-emission vehicles by 2030 “or as soon as markets allow.”
Worldwide, transportation roughly one-fifth of humanity’s carbon dioxide emissions just under half come from passenger vehicles such as cars and pickup trucks.
In recent years, governments around the world, including China, the United States and the European Union, fueled by concerns about global warming and air pollution, have begun to heavily subsidize electric vehicles and impose stricter emissions standards on new gasoline and diesel vehicles. . cars.
Cost of lithium-ion batteries has also dropped roughly 80 percent since 2013According to BloombergNEF, an energy research group, electric vehicles are increasingly competitive with traditional combustion engine vehicles, but many consumers are wary of new technology due to concerns such as the following. availability of charging stations.
“We have the technology to make clean road transport a reality, and it’s clear we have the will today to do it over the next decade,” said Nigel Topping, who was appointed “high-level” to the United Nations by the British government. climate action champion.”
Some of the automakers that signed the deal had promised to clean the cars they produced. GM said in January Aims to stop sales of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks by 2035 and will evolve into battery-powered vehicles. Volvo has said it expects its car lineup to be fully electric by 2030.
But the commitment has committed some of the signatories to doing more than they had previously promised. Launching an electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck this year, Ford has previously said it expects only 40 percent of its global vehicle mix to be electric by 2030.
“We are now moving to deliver groundbreaking electric vehicles for the many, not the few,” said Cynthia Williams, Ford’s global director of sustainability.
The other two automakers that signed the commitment were BYD, a Chinese automaker. made big moves It sells Jaguar Land Rover as well as electric cars in Europe.
Some major automakers that did not sign the agreement are still investing heavily in electric vehicle technology. Volkswagen admitted six years ago that it equipped its diesel vehicles to hide illegally high emissions. has since announced its plans Spending tens of billions of dollars by 2025 to build six battery factories, build a global network of charging stations and introduce more than 80 new electric models.
Volkswagen spokesman Nicolai Laude said that while the German automaker is determined to make a rapid transition to electric vehicles, it does not agree with the new commitment as it needs to be careful “combined of regions developing at different speeds” due to the global nature of its business. different local preconditions and different paths to zero emissions are needed”.
Toyota, the world’s best-selling automaker in 2020, was also significantly missing from its list of signers, although this year it announced plans to sell 15 electric vehicle models worldwide by 2025. Japanese automaker more cautious about electric vehicle technologycontinues to bet on alternatives such as hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.
Toyota did not immediately comment.
[ad_2]
Source link