It has been reported that Germany’s finance minister, Christian Linder, has expressed his disagreement with the ban on “Internal Combustion Engines (ICE)” this Tuesday. Germany is by no means complying with the ban regulated by the European Union. Similarly, the transportation minister of Germany has also come out and openly opposed the ban, saying “it is unreasonable and synthetic fuels could be the potential answer to the European Union’s goal to reduce carbon emissions.” In addition to this, all three biggest states in the EU, i.e., Germany, France, and Italy, have opposed the decision taken and said that it will be disastrous for the economic condition of the country.
Moreover, Linder, which is a German industry group that represents more than 100,000 companies, explained that the internal combustion engine possesses different niches and that completely banning this specific manufacturing unit would pose a serious threat to automotive industry units. The businesses of the suppliers of ICE would shut down, and ultimately, the economy would suffer. On the other hand, BMW has also raised its voice regarding the decision to ban internal combustion engines and said that it has no plans to discontinue the manufacturing of the engine.
Complying with the company’s statement, the CEO of BMW, Oliver Zipse, said, “Demand for ICE vehicles will remain robust for many years to come.” Similarly, the manufacturers of internal combustion engines in Italy have also opposed the decision, and now the European Union seems to be in hot water. All three important states have declared their dissent towards the ban, and now it has become necessary for the European Union to respond to this harsh criticism.
The EU should make such policies and procedures that can address all the economic impacts of the concerned countries. La Plateforme Automobile, which is France’s largest automotive company, has stated that approximately 100,000 jobs could be lost by 2035 as a result of this ban. We can easily analyze that the economy would easily be burdened by such a decision and this job cut constitutes half of its workforce. On the other hand, Germany has the same situation as France in terms of its job prospects as most of the workers are employed in this sector. About one-tenth of Germany’s 830,000 jobs in the automotive industry would be jeopardized.