On Tuesday, the European Parliament passed a bill that requires new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the European Union to produce zero emissions starting from 2035 as part of the bloc's fight against climate change. In fact, the measure means ousting cars with internal combustion engines from the EU market.
"The ban on diesel and gasoline vehicles from 2035, approved by the European Parliament, is the result of a myopic and still ideological vision that ignores reality," Urso told Italian newspaper La Stampa.
The Italian minister added he had expected the Ukraine conflict to show that one should not depend on others, whether "it was Russian fossil fuels yesterday or is China's green technology today, not to mention rare earth metals."
The auto industry represents 20% of Italy’s gross domestic product, providing 260,000 jobs, Urso said, adding that the revision should be postponed until 2026, under a certain clause in the legislation, in order to correct mistakes and shortcomings.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has stated that phasing out gasoline and diesel cars will have negative consequences for Italian manufacturers and workers, as well as flood the country with Chinese cars.