If the EU wants to achieve its climate protection goals, action must be taken as quickly as possible.
This Wednesday, businesses and consumers will find out what to expect.
Brussels - Ursula von der Leyen's EU Commission today presented legislative proposals that should ensure that the European climate protection targets for 2030 are achieved.
It is assumed that the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or mineral oil should once again be made significantly more expensive in order to accelerate the switch to climate-friendly technologies.
In addition, the carbon dioxide limit values for new cars are likely to be raised again.
Climate neutrality by 2050
Von der Leyen confirmed in advance that a time frame should also be specified by which all cars must be emission-free.
Otherwise there would be a lack of planning security and climate neutrality would not be achieved by 2050, she told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
How they change their production, however, should be left to the manufacturers themselves.
“They know best how to develop new cars or new fuels,” said von der Leyen.
In addition to electric cars, combustion engines can also be climate-neutral if they run on hydrogen or synthetic fuels.
If produced correctly, these energy sources do not produce any additional greenhouse gases.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
The totality of the proposed measures should enable the EU states to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 55 percent below the 1990 level by 2030. That is why the package is also called "Fit for 55" by the Commission. The long-term goal of the EU is that by 2050 no more climate-damaging gases will be released into the atmosphere. This is how man-made climate change and its consequences are to be stopped. Scientists see global warming as a reason for rising sea levels and weather-related natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and forest fires.
In addition to the timeframe for emission-free vehicles, the Commission also specifically wants to propose, among other things, an EU-wide emissions trading system for the transport and building sectors.
This would mean that the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or mineral oil for heating or the transport of people and goods would become even more expensive.
Road traffic is the only sector in which emissions have even increased in recent years, said von der Leyen of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
You have to counter this with something.
"At the same time we will set up a social fund specifically for climate costs," said the CDU politician.
This is how you ensure that households with low incomes get compensation.
dpa
