Conservative parties CDU and CSU launch anti-combustion engine phase-out campaign.
According to the European Union's climate plan, the combustion engine will be prohibited by 2035. This initiative was also championed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the European elections. However, the German CDU/CSU parties are now campaigning against this ban.
Barely two weeks before the European elections, the CDU and CSU launched a referendum to oppose the planned ban on new cars with combustion engines from 2035. Since Friday, citizens have been able to cast their votes on the parties' websites - with the slogan "Yes to Cars - No to the Ban on Combustion Engines." Their goal is to reverse the EU ban on combustion engines from 2035 that was approved by the European Parliament.
CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann voiced concerns about the potential economic damage of such a ban. "Banning combustion engines could harm our country's prosperity," he said in an interview with Bild. "It's like sawing off the branch we're sitting on." Germany is known for manufacturing the world's most efficient combustion engines. Achieving climate neutrality, he argued, requires technological innovation rather than bans.
CSU General Secretary Martin Huber echoed these sentiments, adding that the proposed ban on combustion engines from 2035 is misguided. "Climate protection requires technological openness, not bans," he told Bild. The combustion engine forms the foundation of Germany's prosperity, he explained, and it would be foolish to simply eliminate this technology.
Currently, the EU's plans call for prohibiting the registration of new cars with combustion engines beginning in 2035, unless those engines are CO2 neutral. This ban is meant to help the EU meet its climate protection goals.
The Union's campaign is particularly sensitive politically due to von der Leyen's support for ending combustion engines by 2035. Von der Leyen is the EU nominee for the European People's Party (EPP), which encompasses both the CDU and CSU.
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Source: www.ntv.de
