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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Arthur Neslen

Germany’s e-fuel EU loophole could mean ‘135bn more litres of petrol burnt’

Greenpeace activists created an installation at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest against the German government’s request for vehicles that can be powered by e-fuels to be exempted from the phase-out.
Greenpeace activists created an installation at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest against the German government’s request for vehicles that can be powered by e-fuels to be exempted from the phase-out. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

A shock German push to break an agreed EU-wide phase-out of conventional cars by 2035 could displace up to 46m electric car sales and trigger the burning of 135bn more litres of fossil petrol than needed, according to a study.

EU leaders and MEPs had agreed a phase-out of internal combustion engines (ICEs) by 2035 but earlier this month, Germany’s transport ministry, led by the liberal FDP party, lodged an objection just days before a rubber-stamping vote.

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