Sales of combustion-engine cars must end by 2028 – Greenpeace study

Combustion-engine cars should not be sold beyond 2028, Greenpeace’s Germany branch said on Monday, citing the results of a study that focuses on implementing the Paris climate agreement.

In addition, all vehicles running on petrol and diesel should be banned from European streets by 2040, the environmentalist protest group said.

It noted that while greenhouse gas emissions have recently declined across most economic sectors, emissions caused by transport have stagnated. According to Greenpeace, they were recently recorded at 28-per-cent higher than 1990 levels.

“The study shows that we must transition away from combustion engines much faster than previously thought while simultaneously reducing the number of cars significantly,” said Greenpeace Germany spokesman Benjamin Stephan.

Greenpeace recommends expanding public transport and cycling infrastructure in order to provide alternatives to driving.

“Those who still promote combustion engines are ignoring the consequences of the climate crisis and the global dynamic of the automotive branch,” Stephan said, calling on carmakers to take climate change seriously by basing their business models on finding solutions.

Under the landmark Paris agreement, world powers agreed in 2015 to the target of keeping the rise in global temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius, or ideally below 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Support for Germany’s key automotive industry has been the subject of hot debate recently, with carmakers calling for support such as buyers’ premiums to help them through the coronavirus crisis, prompting uproar from climate campaigners.

Source: GNA