European legislators have approved a ban on new gasoline and diesel cars and vans being sold in the EU starting in 2035. This is a major step towards the ambitious green goals of the region.

The plans were proposed by the European Commission (the EU’s executive branch), and 339 European Parliament MEPs voted for them. Two-thirds of the votes were against, with 24 abstentions.

The European Union is now closer to its 2020 goal to reduce emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicle by 100 percent in 2035, as compared with 2021. 2020’s emissions target for vehicles is 50% and vans 55%, respectively.

According to the Commission, passenger cars and vans contribute approximately 12% and 2.5% respectively of total EU CO2 emissions. Now, MEPs and the 27 EU member countries will be negotiating the plan with them.

Meanwhile, the U.K. wants to ban new gasoline and diesel cars and vans from being sold by 2030. All new vans and cars must have no tailpipe emissions by 2035. On January 31, 2020, the U.K. departed from the EU.

Jan Huitema (Dutch MEP) was part of Renew Europe Group and welcomed Wednesday’s results. He said, “I’m thrilled that the European Parliament supported an ambitious revision to the 2030 targets and supported a 100 percent target for 2035. This is critical for reaching climate neutrality in 2050.”

Others commenting on the news included Alex Keynes, clean vehicles manager at Brussels-based campaign group Transport & Environment. Keynes stated that the deadline will see all fossil fuel vehicles sold before 2035. This gives us an opportunity to stop runaway climate change.

He also stated that plans would provide certainty to the automotive industry in order to increase production of electric vehicles which, in turn, will reduce prices for motorists.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association stated that it is “concerned” by the vote of MEPs to place in stone a goal of -100% CO2 for 2035.

Oliver Zipse is president and CEO at ACEA. BMWAccording to, the industry is “in the middle of a large push for electric cars, with new models coming steadily.”

Zipse explained that long-term regulations beyond the decade are premature due to global volatility and uncertainty. Zipse stated that a transparent review of the situation is necessary halfway to establish post-2030 goals.

According to the EU, it is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. The EU’s “Fit for 55” plan, which aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at most 55%, is the EU’s medium-term goal.

It wasn’t easy for this plan to be realized. MEPs had rejected the revision of EU Emissions Trading System or ETS. This was what brought about news regarding cars and vans.

The European Parliament stated in a statement on Thursday that three of the Fit for 55 packages’ draft laws were “on hold” pending agreement.