The idea of driving a car with electricity is anything but new. As early as 1983, presenter and eco-pioneer Peter Lustig from the popular children's programme "Löwenzahn" was dreaming about it.
More and more islands are converting to electric: in June, VW declared that it would completely electrify the Greek island of Astypalea. Now Citroën is following suit and taking on the island of Chalki.
Over the last five years, various countries in the EU have been trying to make the entire value chain of a production compatible with human rights and environmental protection. In March 2021, the European Parliament agreed to a report to require due diligence also for companies with less than 1000 employees. This is seen as an invitation to the EU Commission to draft a corresponding law.
Not only since the pandemic have we noticed a shortage of long-distance drivers. Who is still prepared to drive goods across Europe for hours and days on end, harassed by environmental zones that many a heavy truck with the wrong sticker has to avoid. In the future, truck drivers may only need a screen and an armchair to direct the fleet.
Japan has complete faith in its innovative strength. And sees all-electric cars as a threat to its economy. In order not to rely exclusively on electric batteries in engines, the five largest vehicle manufacturers in Nippon have joined forces to develop an alternative to the zero-emission battery.
One of the biggest challenges for switching to electric cars is the inadequate charging network. Drivers still have to spend far too long looking for a free charging point. If the sales figures for electric cars increase, the problem will automatically worsen.
The Flemish Minister for Transport and Mobility has presented an ambitious plan: From 2027, all new vehicle registrations are to be electric only. She assumes that the purchase price for electric cars will be the same as for petrol or diesel cars from 2025/26. Experts have doubts and fear difficulties for the used car market.
Rising energy prices are demanding more and more unpleasant decisions. In Great Britain, they have now been forced to replace electric locomotives with diesel locomotives. The line to Glasgow, where the climate summit is currently taking place, is also affected.
Sweden would like to be a pioneer in environmental protection. To achieve this, there are three different types of low emission zones. A total of eight cities have an environmental zone, and Stockholm even has two different ones.
Austria's current climate plan will not be enough to meet the EU targets by 2030 and thus reduce CO2 emissions by 7 percent. Now it is being discussed whether the rules of the environmental zones should be tightened. Then, for example, only trucks with a registration from 2020 would be allowed in Tyrol. But that will not be enough to combat air pollution. One solution would be to extend the rules to other vehicle classes such as passenger cars.
