The European Union struck a deal on Thursday on a law to effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. It aims to speed up the switch to electric vehicles and combat climate change.

Negotiators from the EU countries and the European Parliament, who must both approve new EU laws, as well as the European Commission, which drafts new laws, agreed that carmakers must achieve a 100 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2035. This would make it impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the 27-country bloc by that time.

"This deal is good news for car drivers … new zero-emission cars will become cheaper, making them more affordable and more accessible to everyone," the parliament's lead negotiator Jan Huitema said.

EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said the agreement sent a strong signal to the auto industry and consumers. "Europe is embracing the shift to zero-emission mobility," he said.

The deal also included a 55 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions for new cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels, much higher than the current target of a 37.5 percent reduction.

New vans must comply with a 100 percent carbon dioxide cut by 2035, and a 50 percent cut by 2030 compared with 2021 levels.

With regulators increasing the pressure on carmakers to curb their carbon footprint, many have announced investments in electrification. Volkswagen boss Thomas Schaefer last week said that from 2033, the brand will only produce electric cars in Europe.

But the EU law met some resistance when it was proposed in July 2021. The European car industry association ACEA warned against banning a specific technology and called for internal combustion engines and hydrogen vehicles to play a role in the low-carbon transition.

Negotiators agreed on Thursday that the EU will draft a proposal on how cars that run on "CO2 neutral fuels" could be sold after 2035.

Small carmakers producing less than 10,000 vehicles per year can negotiate weaker targets until 2036, when they would face the zero-emission requirement.

The law is the first to be finalized from a broader package of new EU policies that are designed to deliver the bloc's targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Brussels in Belgium is seeking deals on two more laws from the package in time for the United Nations climate negotiations in November, in a bid to show that despite a looming recession and soaring energy prices, the bloc is pressing ahead with its climate goals.

Reuters