[ti:Germany Threatens to Hold Up EU Combustion Engine Ban]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2023-03-04]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Germany's transport minister says his country cannot support a planned European Union ban on new cars with combustion engines until the proposal is changed.
[00:15.90]Minister Volker Wissing is seeking to have language added to the proposal that would permit sales of new combustion engines that run on cleaner burning synthetic fuels.
[00:31.66]Wissing said synthetic fuels can be produced using renewable energy and carbon captures from the air. 
[00:41.97]Supporters of such fuels say they would not release any further climate-changing pollution, or emissions, into the atmosphere.
[00:54.19]EU lawmakers and member states reached an early deal last year to force carmakers to reduce new vehicle emissions by 55 percent in 2030 compared to 2021 levels.
[01:12.44]The plan calls for a 100 percent reduction in 2035.
[01:18.96]The proposal effectively means the sale of new cars burning hydrocarbon-based fuels, such as petroleum, would be banned.
[01:30.89]But some countries, including Germany, had asked the EU's executive Commission to come up with an exemption for cars that burn synthetics.
[01:43.77]Wissing has said the EU Commission should propose a new rule permitting combustion engines to be registered after 2035 if they can prove they run on synthetic fuels.
[02:00.96]Critics say battery-electric technology is a better fit for passenger cars. 
[02:08.79]They have suggested that valuable synthetic fuels should be used only in cases where no other possibility exists, such as with airplanes.
[02:21.25]Benjamin Stephan of environmental group Greenpeace says studies show the same amount of electricity will take a battery-powered vehicle five times further than a car-powered by synthetic fuels.
[02:39.41]Stephan said he does not think such synthetic fuels will play an important part for passenger vehicles. 
[02:49.04]He urged Germany's automotive industry to instead invest in electronic vehicles.
[02:58.09]I'm Bryan Lynn.