COP26, Italy says no to the agreement on zero-emission cars | FormulaPassion.it

On the one hand Canada, India, Sweden and the United Kingdom on the other Italy, Germany and above all China and the United States. The agreement for the transition to zero-emission mobility, with a commitment to sell only electric cars worldwide by 2040 divides the nations of COP26. Our country is among those who opposed the signing of the proposal drawn up by Boris Johnson, with the Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani who highlighted how this is a very delicate issue. To block Italy there would have been the inclusion in the text of light commercial vehicles and especially of vans.

An agreement, the one discussed in Glasgow, which also split the automotive world. What has been defined as “the reference global agreement” for the energy transition has in fact seen among those who have opposed the four-wheel sector, some of the largest automotive giants in the world, including Toyota and Volkswagen but also Stellantis, Honda, Nissan, BMW and Hyundai. All brands and groups that have repeatedly reaffirmed their position for a breakthrough towards reducing emissions but who did not want to commit to a text formulated in this way. According to what reported by Il Corriere della Sera, the German marks and the federal government would have “Refused to sign the deal because it contained a footnote that would have prevented the use of synthetic fuels produced with renewable energy, an option that some in the current and likely future government want to keep open.”

The decision of the Italian government immediately triggered the controversy on the part of some associations: “Italy has lost an opportunity to promote the phase-out of fossil fuel cars in the EU”, – commented Carlo Tritto, Policy Officer for Transport & Environment Italia, an NGO that promotes the sustainability of the European transport sector – “Our country holds the European record for car density and therefore it is not surprising that the transport sector is the main driver of Italian greenhouse gas emissions.”