E-mobility stakeholders join forces in open letter to Commissioner Breton after comments on e-mobility
On October 8, POLIS and several other stakeholders from the entire e-mobility ecosystem sent an open letter to Commissioner Thierry Breton expressing their concerns regarding his recent comments to Brussels media, in which he warned of a "gigantic disruption" to the automotive industry in the face of strengthened CO2 standards for cars and vans.
This “gigantic disruption” is in fact a major transition to a cleaner, more sustainable Europe in line with the legally binding obligations of the EU Climate Law. The phase-out of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and vans in 2035 is crucial to provide certainty to investors, decision-makers and civil society. Commissioner Breton's comments send a mixed message to these stakeholders ahead of COP27, as the European Parliament and the Council have recently come to an agreement on October 27 about more stringent CO2 emission performance standards for new vehicles and vans.
In this open letter POLIS, together with several organisations including AVERE, Bellona, CEE-GTI, ChargeUP Europe, Eurelectic, EUROCITIES, EuropeOn, EV100, MOTUS-E, PSPA, SEVA, T&E and Vattenfall remind Commissioner Breton that:
- E-Mobility is necessary to reach EU climate and air quality targets
- The transition will create new high-skilled jobs for Europeans
- Charging Infrastructure will not be a bottleneck if ambitious targets are set and implemented
- Electricity production and the grid can keep up
- Raw Materials will be available – if DG GROW acts decisively
- EVs emit less CO2 than ICEs across the board
- EVs emit less fine particulate matter than ICEs
We count on the Commission to deliver ambitious and evidence-based legislative proposals to address any remaining bottlenecks ahead of 2035 and are fully ready and available ready to work with Commissioner Breton and the remaining colleagues at the Commission in creating the right enabling conditions for a successful ICE phase-out by 2035.
You can read the full open letter in the document attached.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Ivo Cré (Director of Policy & Projects - Coordinator Access) and/or Pedro Gomes (Project Manager - Coordinator of Clean vehicles & Air quality Working Group) from POLIS Network.
