Cut CO2 emissions from cars in the EU?
"Easier said that done".
The European Court of Auditors launches its warning, highlighting that the EU "objectives" on "emissions for new cars will not be achievable as long as important prerequisites are missing".
Electric vehicles, is the position expressed in a report, are the only ones that can "help the EU get closer to a zero-emission car fleet" by 2035, but obstacles remain many and "a change of gear" will be needed.
EU auditors note that real emissions from traditional cars, which still make up almost three-quarters of new vehicle registrations, "have not decreased": over the last ten years, emissions from diesel cars have remained constant, while those from petrol cars have decreased marginally (-4.6%).
Technological progress in terms of engine efficiency is then counterbalanced by the increase in vehicle mass (on average approximately +10%) and engine power (on average +25%).
And for hybrid cars real CO2 emissions tend to be much higher than those recorded in the laboratory.
According to the Court based in Luxembourg, only electric vehicles (which went from one vehicle for every 100 new registrations in 2018 to almost one in 2022) have driven the green revolution.
"However, the road ahead is bumpy", observe the EU auditors, citing among the main obstacles "access to raw materials to produce a sufficient number of batteries", "the inadequacy of charging infrastructure" and "the initial costs higher than electric cars".
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