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The era of fossil-fuels is reaching its end as 30 countries committed to phase out fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2040. This is a new landmark global agreement set at Cop26, having a major impact on companies not only in the automotive industry, but generally in the energy sector.
At least six major automakers agreed to follow this commitment and end sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 worldwide. Ford, Mercedes, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, China’s BYD and Jaguar Land Rover joined the pledge, promising to replace their cars with either plug-in electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Their target is even more ambitious as they want to reach 100 percent zero-emission new car and van sales in leading markets by 2035 or earlier if possible.
Some of these automakers had already pledged to clean up the cars they produce. Back in September, Ford announced a new assembly plant and three battery factories. Also, it aims for a 40% of its global sales to be fully electric by 2030, expanding its electric lineup. This is a $41 billion investment in total. On the other hand, G.M. committed to stop selling new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks by 2035, planning to double its annual revenue by 2030 as it transitions to an all-electric future.
Vehicle fleet operators, including Uber and LeasePlan, also joined “The Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans”, committing to operate only zero-emissions vehicles by 2030.
This was actually a proposal made by the European Union back in July, but now it takes shape and comes into action. The EU proposal was aiming an effective ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, speeding up the switch to zero-emission electric vehicles.
The International Energy Agency has already stated that the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars will have to cease by 2035, considering that transport accounts for a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes the agreement even more essential.
With COP26 announcements and pledges, it seems the world is taking historic steps towards sustainability. Do you feel the change? It’s time to catch up.
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