Many countries in the world have announced plans to ban fossil fuel-based vehicles as part of their efforts to cut carbon emissions and tackle climate change. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched the “green revolution” to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Under the plan, sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2030, five years than initially planned. In 2019, the UK became the first G7 country to approve a law on the net-zero emission target by 2050.
In the US, California Government Gavin Newsom said in September that the state would prohibit the sale of gasoline-fueled passenger cars and trucks by 2035. In neighbouring Canada, the province of Quebec this week said the sale of new gasoline-fueled passenger cars would be banned starting in 2035.
In Europe, Germany began banning older diesel vehicles with high pollutant emission in 2018. Oil- and gas-rich Norway intends to be the first country that prohibits fossil fuel-powered cars by setting a 2025 deadline. Fully electric vehicles now account for around 60% of monthly auto sales in Norway.
In Asia, China began studying in 2017 when to prohibit the manufacturing and sale of fuel-based vehicles. However, it has so far announced no official deadline for the ban. New energy vehicles are expected to account for approximately half of the country’s total new car sales by 2035. In 2019, India’s central think-tank asked motorbike and scooter producers to outline plans to switch to electric vehicles.
