On Thursday, 27 October, the European Parliament and European Union member states reached an agreement that provides for the cessation of sales of vehicles fitted with internal combustion engines, as reported by the Czech Republic, which is the current presiding country.
The decision to cease using internal combustion engines is one of the measures intended to assist with EU’s goals for climate change restriction and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the year 2030 in comparison to the level observed in 1990, as a well as accomplish «climate neutrality» by the year 2050.
Vehicles with internal combustion engines currently contribute 12% of EU carbon dioxide emissions. Vehicles in general contribute approximately a quarter of all emissions.
Approximately 12% of all cars sold in Europe are electric cars.
Conservative politicians, especially in Germany, object to this because it will create a massive financial burden for European car manufacturers, which already have to compete with manufacturers in other countries, which have lower standards to follow.
The European Parliament approved the ban on internal combustion engines from 2035 onward, which was proposed by the European Commission, just recently – in June 2022.
BNN previously reported that Latvian power transmission company Sadales tīkls JSC and other state administration institutions have plans to install more than 2 000 public recharge stations across Latvia.
The project will be implemented with support from the European Union Recovery Fund. A total of EUR 5 million will be allocated towards construction of necessary infrastructure.
According to Sadales tīkls, the project’s goal is to install 2 060 access points across Latvia for public use. It is planned for infrastructure connecting the power network and recharge points will be constructed by Sadales tīkls, whereas the infrastructure connecting transformers and recharge stations will be provided by partners.
More on this topic: Using EU funds, Latvia has plans to develop more than 2 000 electric car recharge points