Friedrich Merz’s election campaign promise Germany will formally act against a ban on combustion engines in Europe in the next decade. A letter to this effect was sent on Friday (28) to the European Commission to request a postponement of the end of the use of gasoline and diesel engines in vehicles in the bloc countries.
According to European legislation, passenger cars and vans must reach zero emissions by 2035. The road sector was responsible for more than 10% of the planet’s net greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, when the law was implemented. Electrification seemed like a quick fix to emissions, Brussels was discussing alternatives to Russia’s energy dependence, and the law became an economic and political revolution in many member states.
As Merz stated when justifying these measures, the situation of German car manufacturers is currently “precarious.” “We all know what is happening to the automobile industry,” the Prime Minister declared about the crisis hitting the sector on the continent.
Major German brands have lost the technological race over electric models to China. As in Brazil, companies like BYD have begun to invade the European Union, after eliminating European competitors in the Chinese market.
The German lobby was vocal during the approval of the 2026 budget in Parliament, also on Friday, in Berlin. The package included a policy of subsidizing electric cars, which ended in the last administration, and is now returning with the inclusion of hybrid models and those equipped with “high-efficiency” conventional engines – a label that seems like a euphemism in the eyes of experts.
Germany, a recognized environmental leader whose origins date back to the fight against nuclear power in the 1970s, is facing a period of economic recession that is now in its third year. As a symbol of the country’s post-war strength, Volkswagen announced a plan to close factories at the end of last year, something that would be unprecedented in the automaker’s history.
The environmental policy of the previous government coalition, which included the Green Party, was targeted by the far right and was ridiculed by opponents. The so-called “Heating Law”, which created subsidies for the exchange of oil and gas systems for electrical equipment, was poorly implemented, as well as not well explained to the population.
Seeking the votes of the disaffected, Merz’s conservative coalition, then in opposition, began demonizing the government led by social democrat Olaf Scholz, mixing clumsy policies with energy prices, which had been inflated by the Russian gas boycott and the inherent volatility of renewables.
In this scenario, saving jobs by maintaining cars that burn fossil fuels was a handy banner in the last election. “Look how happy I am,” Markus Söder, the prime minister of Bavaria, a position equivalent to that of governor, announced after Merz’s ally made the announcement.
Söder is one of several German politicians who found campaigning in criticizing the Green Party and its vaunted exaggeration of environmental policies. On social media, for example, he is shown eating hot dogs and hamburgers to antagonize campaigns calling for reducing emissions from meat consumption.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party that German security services consider far-right, goes much further, even calling for the demolition of wind towers in the country.
However, for critics, revising the due date for combustion engines brings with it side effects. If German automakers can no longer deal with Chinese competition, prolonging outdated technology will only make the situation worse.
“Anyone who believes that Germany will be able to secure jobs and create value in the future using combustion engine technology, which is already outdated, is deliberately closing their eyes to reality,” said Sebastian Bock, of the German arm of the T&E Foundation, a European think tank focused on the transportation sector.
The supposed middle path does not seem to be an alternative either. According to the European Union, carbon dioxide emissions from hybrid cars are, on average, about five times higher than those indicated in tests published by the factories.
A European Commission meeting on this issue is scheduled for December 10. Before the divine support from the Merz government, car manufacturers expressed their fear that their demands would not be met or a decision on this issue would be postponed.
Among the many proposals put forward by the companies is the spread of the use of biofuels, an issue of interest to Brazil, a leader in production and technology in this sector.
In September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament that the bloc’s alternative should not be to roll back legislation, but rather to encourage the creation of popular electric models and spread their use in fleets, which are responsible for the majority of sales on the continent.
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2It is expected to grow by 1.1% in 2025 and reach a record level of 38.1 billion tons. Decarbonization is underway in many countries, but not at a sufficient pace. The European Union is expected to increase its emissions by 0.4% this year.