EU auditors sound another warning: Europe needs more than one solution to de-fossilise road transport

The EU’s green ambitions for reduction emissions from cars are likely to backfire because they are over-reliant on one technology, electric cars, said members of the EU Court of Auditors this week.

According to news reports, the auditors said the EU needs to rethink its policies on transport decarbonisation, citing 2026 as an important milestone for reviewing the CO₂ for cars regulation.

As Euronews reported, the auditors warned “the EU’s industrial sovereignty is at risk if it sticks to a de facto 2035 ban on petrol and diesel cars without addressing its dependency on overseas suppliers for raw materials and batteries needed to produce electric vehicles.”

“The EU faces a conundrum, how to meet goals without harming industrial policy and hurting consumers,” said Court of Auditors member Annemie Turtelboom, according to EURACTIV.

This is in addition to the fact that EU car industry statistics show that Europeans continue to buy mostly petrol and hybrid cars, and that sales of battery electric vehicles have slowed. This underlines the importance of using a range of solutions – electrification, sustainable biofuels, e-fuels – to ensure a socially inclusive effort to de-fossilise transport.

“The EU does not hold all the cards when it comes to electrifying its car fleet: access to raw materials, the costs to be borne by its industry and its citizens, and a lack of infrastructure could mean it loses its bet,” Turtelboom said.