Italy on Tuesday abstained in an EU
vote that OK'd the end of the sale of petrol and diesel powered
cars in 2035 and Rome said it would ask for the use of biofuels
to continue beyond that date as a partial remedy for its
motorists.
Rome and some other EU members including Poland and Bulgaria had
fought against the ban on gas engine powered car sales from
2035, and it was ratified Tuesday by a majority of EU energy
ministers.
After the vote, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto said the
Italian government would work to get biofuels included among
carbon neutral fuels to cushion the impact of the halt to gas
engine car sales.
Italy abstained in the vote on the final ratification of the EU
agreement on the 2035 phase-out of petrol- and diesel-fuelled
combustion engines, according to the final report of the vote in
the Energy Council. Along with Rome, Bulgaria and Poland also
abstained on the agreement ratified by a majority of EU
ministers. The only vote against was cast by Poland.
Germany, on the other hand, was in favour, following the
agreement on the future use of e-fuels reached over the weekend
with the European Commission.
After the vote, Pichetto said: "We will endeavour, within the
framework of the approval procedures for the legislative acts
indicated by the European Commission, to have biofuels also
considered among the CO2-neutral fuels.
"We consider that the provision in the Commission's statement of
only synthetic fuels is too restrictive an interpretation," he
added.
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