The Brussels regional government announced on Friday a ban on diesel cars in the region by 2030 and petrol cars by 2035 in an effort to meet the European Union’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050.Its low-emission zone, established in 2018, has contributed to reducing emissions of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter from transport by 11 percent in the Brussels region, the city said in a statement today.
The revolutionary rule could be included in the European Union’s ‘Green Deal’, which seeks to make the bloc “climate neutral” by 2050. The European Commission could potentially increase its near-term 2030 target to require a 60% cut in car emissions, a far more ambitious goal than the 37.5% reduction outlined in the current plan. The target could be raised to 100% by 2035 – essentially outlawing new automobiles with combustion engines within the next 14 years, the officials explained to the outlet.
It’s still unclear whether the proposal will make it into the final version of the 2030 plan, which is set to be published on July 14. The roadmap, along with the rest of the Green Deal, will then go before the European Parliament for approval. The initiative has already triggered a strong negative response from the bloc’s automobile manufacturers