Amid Monstrous Wildfires, European Automakers Push To Weaken EV Mandates

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France and Spain are enduring mammoth wildfires that threaten entire cites. More than 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes by the fires. Do you have any idea what sort of family trauma that causes? No income for most, no cooking facilities or clean bathrooms, no safe place for people to sleep, and no jobs to go to during the day. If it happened to you, it would blow a hole in your lives, but all the news is focused on is the price of gasoline at the pump and AI.

Despite all of that, The Guardian reports that BMW, Ford, Nissan, and Toyota, together with Bosch, are pressuring the government of the UK to abandon the EV mandate that would prohibit the sale of conventional cars powered by gasoline or diesel engines after 2035. In April, they wrote a joint letter to government ministers arguing for an  “open technology approach” that would allow cars to be powered by any fuel source. Perhaps they could resurrect the coal gas powered cars from nearly a century ago? The letter was obtained by The Fast Charge newsletter via a freedom of information request and shared with The Guardian.

Working The Refs

Major carmakers privately lobbied the UK government to revoke a ban on new petrol and diesel cars after 2035, according to documents that reveal for the first time the efforts to overturn a key decarbonization policy. That letter argued that the government should allow “highly efficient ICE, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, range extenders, and combustion engines when utilizing green steel and sustainable fuels” beyond 2035.

You really have to ask yourself, “What in the world is wrong with these people?” All those technologies produce carbon dioxide by burning fuel, as well as other harmful pollutants, which makes the climate crisis worse. Is anyone paying attention to the world outside their windows? Europe and the UK are enduring enormous heat domes; farmers are seeing their crop yields reduced by drought, heat, and flooding; the Continent is on fire; and all they can think about is how EVs will affect their bottom line … in 2035?

“High efficiency” is a joke. Right now, my wife and I are on a road trip to Cape Cod in our trusty Chevy Bolt with its 65 kWh battery and a range of around 250 miles. A gallon of gasoline has 33.7 kWh of energy, which means our Bolt can travel about 250 miles on the equivalent of about 2 gallons of gas. And you think your Prius is efficient? Give me a break. The efficiency of an EV is astonishing. That of a conventional car is puny in comparison.

If we are to have any hope of dealing with the onrushing climate crisis, it is by leveraging the efficiency of electrical power versus the profligate waste associated with burning fossil fuels. What corporations want is irrelevant. They are fictitious legal entities. What people need is the proper province of government, but we always focus on what industry needs and what Wall Street needs instead.

Studied Ignorance

Studiously ignoring what is happening before our very eyes reminds me of the story of the man who lived in a valley that was being flooded by heavy rain. As the waters rose up to his porch, someone in a canoe came by and offered to take him to safety, but he declined, claiming God would protect him. An hour later, the water was up to the second floor and someone in a rowboat came by and offered to take him to safety, but again he refused, proclaiming his faith in God.

An hour later, he was on the roof clinging to his chimney when someone in a helicopter came by and offered to take him to safety. He refused, believing God would save him. 10 minutes later, he drowned. When he went to heaven to meet his Maker, he was angry with God for not saving him. God said, “I sent you a canoe, a rowboat, and a helicopter. I can only do so much. You have to do some things for yourself.”

Wildfires, droughts, and floods are a sign that the environment is changing. If we cling to the shibboleths of the past, we are doomed. Rolling back policies to suit the whims of corporations is not smart government, it is a death sentence. It’s long past time to awake from our dreams of fossil fuels and deal with reality — while there is still time.

UK Says It Will Stay The Course

The UK’s Climate Change Committee argues that the 2035 ban on sales of conventional cars with infernal combustion engines is a cornerstone policy in cutting the UK’s carbon emissions. The switch to electric vehicles is the single biggest contributor to cutting UK carbon pollution in the next decade, it says.

A government spokesperson said the 2035 ban was not up for negotiation, and yet successive governments have weakened EV policies. Labour has already introduced “flexibilities” into electric vehicle targets that run up to 2030. The government is now considering further changes to the rules, known as the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, after strong lobbying by carmakers.

The suggestion of revoking the 2035 ban was heavily criticized by climate groups. “Reversing the transition to pure electric vehicles in the middle of a climate emergency would be a historic policy failure. The technology exists, consumers are embracing it and the economic case is becoming stronger every year. There is simply no justification for prolonging our dependence on petrol and diesel,” Matt Galvin, the managing director of Polestar UK, told The Guardian. “Rather than reopening the door to new gasoline and diesel sales, policymakers should be accelerating the transition by removing the barriers that still prevent millions of drivers from switching.”

The Multi-Path Lie

The companies said in the letter that a “multi-path strategy” should match that of the EU, which weakened its own electric car targets in December to enforce 90 percent electric car sales after 2035, down from 100 percent previously. Critics of the lobbying campaign claim the continued sale of internal combustion engine cars could backfire, especially as Chinese manufacturers bring more electric cars to market in the EU and the UK.

Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said opposing the transition to EVs “looks like a case of King Canute trying to hold back the tide. For the UK car industry a failure to make the transition quickly enough risks factories and communities being left behind, ultimately putting jobs in peril. There is simply no technology that can rival electrification when it comes to reducing emissions and offering significantly lower running costs.”

BMW said it has “concerns about the trajectory of the ZEV mandate as the sales requirements for 2026 and beyond do not reflect current levels of consumer demand.” Perhaps if a few hundred thousand more people see their homes and communities go up in flames, a shift in attitudes might take place.

A Toyota spokesperson said the government should “remain open-minded” because demand did not match the mandate. He added, “We view carbon as the enemy and are pursuing a multi-pathway strategy that addresses consumers’ mobility needs and enables customers to reduce their emissions as much as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Tell that to the wildfire roaring down your street, why don’t you? Remember, “If the people will lead, their leaders will follow.” Corporations don’t give a flying fig leaf about climate change, and yet their views are given priority by governments. If that does not end, the end of humanity will follow shortly.