COP27: France, Spain latest to pledge halt to gasoline-driven vehicle sales

Delta Electronics

16/11/2022 22:01

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      Pledge commits to 100% zero emission sales by 2040
    

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      Delta Electronic, Valeo also sign up to pledge
    

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      2022 to be record year for sales of electric vehicles
    

  
    By Simon Jessop
       SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17, (Reuters) - France and
Spain on Thursday joined a pledge to stop sales of
gasoline-driven vehicles by 2035, five years earlier than
previously planned, part of efforts to accelerate the transition
to a low-carbon economy.
    The countries made their pledges at the COP27 climate talks
in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, among a group of new signatories to
the Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration (ZEVD), launched at last
year's conference in Glasgow.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2S11J6
    Signatories, including countries, municipalities and
companies, pledged to shift to 100% sales of zero-emission
vehicles by 2035 in leading markets and by 2040 across the
globe.
    Among a number of new corporate signatories were fleet
owners Delta Electronic, Coca-Cola EUROPACIFC Partners and parts
maker Valeo  VLOF.PA , the British government said in a
statement.
    The total number of signatories to the pledge now stands at
214, from 130 a year earlier. Going forward, the ZEVD would be
overseen by a new group, the Accelerating to Zero Coalition,
that aims to help signatories implement their commitment.
        Policymakers are keen to slash or eliminate greenhouse
gas emissions from cars, trucks and other forms of transport
such as planes, a leading contributor to global warming.
Aviation and shipping are harder to decarbonise, but
low-emissions technology for smaller vehicles is well
established and scaling fast.
  
    Data released by BloombergNEF showed 2022 would be a record
year for sales of zero-emission vehicles with electric vehicles
comprising 13.2% of all sales in the first half of the year.
    Alok Sharma, who was the president at COP26, said the
zero-emissions vehicles pledge "was a major milestone bringing
together leading actors to accelerate the transition to 100
percent new car sales being zero emission by 2040, and 2035 in
leading markets."
    He added: "There are still huge opportunities in emerging
markets and developing economies which is why I'm pleased to
formally launch the Accelerating To Zero Coalition today. This
coalition provides the platform for countries to go further and
faster and to ensure that no country is left behind."
    To help developing countries make the shift to electric
vehicles, Britain's climate minister Graham Stuart said his
country was partnering with otherss to launch a support plan. It
includes creation of a zero-emissions vehicle rapid response
facility to provide technical assistance to countries and help
connect governments and companies to scale up investment.
 (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((simon.jessop@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 207 542 5052;
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