New call to phase out petrol and diesel car sales to limit climate change

New sales for petrol and diesel cars in Europe need to end before 2030 for the car sector to be able to limit climate change and global warming to a 1.5C goal.

A new report from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) found that car emissions have barely changed in the last decade and if sales continue at the same rate, the carbon budget will be reached within 5 to 10 years.

“Auto CO2-emissions need to peak as soon as possible,” Prof Horst Friedrich, DLR’s director, told the Guardian. “Looking at the dwindling carbon budget it is crucial to push low-emitting cars into the market, the earlier the better, to renew the fleet.”

The goal for the car industry to stay in line with the Paris Climate Agreement is to have only alternatively-powered cars on Europe’s roads by 2050.

For this to happen behavioural change towards walking, cycling and public transport would also be necessary.

“It would be much easier to keep a 2°C target because there is a higher carbon budget and therefore more time to implement the necessary measures,” Friedrich told the Guardian. “I estimate it could provide us with up to 10 years more time to prepare much better for the fundamental transformations necessary.”