Combustion engine off from 2023 as a "great opportunity" - but there are also critical voices in the Freising district

Created: 06/29/2022, 08:00

By: Magdalena Hoecherl

Fill up with electricity instead of gas: The EU Parliament is pushing for the switch from combustion engines to electromobility.

© Christoph Soeder

From 2035, no new cars with internal combustion engines will be sold in the European Union.

Many people in the Freising district find that a good thing, but not all of them.

Freising

– New petrol and diesel cars should no longer be allowed to be registered in the EU from 2035.

The EU Parliament is planning this.

A move that provokes approval, but also protest.

Less dependent on problematic imports

“The Bund Naturschutz welcomes the initiative.

The direction is finally clearly set in order to get away from fossil fuels in traffic," says Manfred Drobny from the Freising local group.

"This is the great opportunity to achieve large and lasting savings in the transport sector as a very large greenhouse gas producer for the first time." are often extracted and transported with considerable environmental damage.

Drobny cites the improvement in air quality as a direct on-site effect, for example through the elimination of nitrogen oxides.

Necessary step to avert the climate catastrophe

"I'm pretty sure that we won't see any combustion engines on the market before 2035," says Werner Hillebrand-Hansen, Chairman of the Bürger Energie Genossenschaft (BEG) Freisinger Land.

Like Drobny, he sees the switch to electric drives primarily as an opportunity to become independent of importing fossil fuels.

In addition, you can achieve decarbonization in transport, which is urgently needed to avert the climate catastrophe.

Hillebrand-Hansen also sees an opportunity for the automotive industry: You can now concentrate on preparing for the future.

"And that is electric mobility."

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

In order for this to succeed, it is urgently necessary to make the change affordable for citizens, including in the small car segment, and at the same time to expand the charging infrastructure.

"Here, the BEG, as the largest operator in the district, has taken on the pioneering role with the citizen charging network."

District FDP boss sees burner ban as “superfluous”

For Timo Ecker, district chairman of the FDP Freising, the decision of the EU Parliament is a "great disappointment".

The combustion ban is a “questionable individual measure”.

The task of politics is to set the goal - not the way.

“Almost all car manufacturers have decided to voluntarily stop manufacturing combustion engines in the next few years.

The ban is therefore superfluous,” says Ecker.

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In the worst case, it could even lead to obstacles to climate protection.

Because synthetic fuels, which the EU Parliament has also rejected, would play an important role in "getting traffic in the Global South to be CO2-neutral".

Ecker emphasizes: "It goes against all logic that we discourage European companies from researching alternative fuels."

Drive turnaround is not yet a mobility turnaround

Green member of the Bundestag Leon Eckert, on the other hand, also sees the switch as an opportunity for companies: “The end of the combustion engine can be a massive driver for the conversion to a climate-neutral car industry.

By proactively shaping the transformation, we can preserve jobs and added value in Germany and Europe.”

In principle, emissions from car traffic would drop significantly, says Eckert.

“Not only the greenhouse gases, but also the noise and fine dust emissions.

Above all, this means relief for troubled residents.”

However, a drive turnaround should not be equated with a mobility turnaround: "For a real change in transport, well-developed and affordable bus and train connections and safe footpaths and cycle paths are at the top of the agenda." A massive expansion of renewable energies is also needed.

Ecker demands: “The Free State in particular must finally give up its blockade of wind energy so that enough electricity can be made available for charging processes, but also for the industrial site.”

"Real competitive advantage" for German manufacturers

Eckert's colleague in the Bundestag, SPD MP Andreas Mehltretter, also welcomes the EU Parliament's proposal.

"A clear date for how long new diesel and petrol engines can still be sold gives everyone involved the ability to plan." The decision also offers the opportunity to concentrate on synthetically produced fuels where they are really needed: at aircraft and heavy transport.

The same applies to hydrogen, which will be needed primarily for industry and as long-term storage for electricity and heating networks.

"And for the German manufacturers, who have been primarily developing electric cars for years, the clear path towards climate-neutral drives can become a real competitive advantage."

Of course, the complete conversion of the automotive industry to e-mobility will take time.

"But that can be done by 2035," says Mehltretter with conviction.

It is also important to take the employees with you and train them accordingly.

In addition, as part of the traffic light coalition, Mehltretter makes two promises: “We will quickly expand the charging infrastructure.

The manufacturers are also supported in ensuring that the raw materials required for the batteries, for example, can be procured fairly, reliably and in an environmentally friendly manner.”

You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.