Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles

A phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles are proposed bans or discouragement on the sale of new fossil-fuel powered vehicles or use of existing fossil-fuel powered vehicles, as well the encouragement of using other forms of transportation. Vehicles that are powered by fossil fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and fuel oil are set to be phased out by a number of countries. It is one of the three most important parts of the general fossil fuel phase-out process, the others being the phase-out of fossil fuel power plants for electricity generation and decarbonisation of industry.
Many countries and cities around the world have stated they will ban the sale of passenger vehicles powered by fossil fuels such as petrol, liquefied petroleum gas, and diesel at some time in the future. Synonyms for the bans include phrases like "banning gas cars", "banning petrol cars", "the petrol and diesel car ban", or simply "the diesel ban". Another method of phase-out is the use of zero-emission zones in cities.

Background

Reasons for banning the further sale of fossil fuel vehicles include: reducing health risks from pollution particulates, notably diesel PM10s, and other emissions, notably nitrogen oxides; meeting national greenhouse gas, such as CO₂, targets under international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement; or energy independence. The intent to ban vehicles powered by fossil fuels is attractive to governments as it offers a simpler compliance target, compared with a carbon tax or phase-out of fossil fuels.
File:BMW i3 AMS 12 2016 0372.jpg|thumb|A BMW i3 being charged in Amsterdam. Electric cars had a world market share of around 5% in 2021.
The automotive industry is working to introduce electric vehicles to adapt to bans with varying success and it is seen by some in the industry as a possible source of money in a declining market. A 2020 study from the Eindhoven University of Technology showed that the manufacturing emissions of batteries of new electric cars are much smaller than what was assumed in the 2017 IVL study and that the lifespan of lithium batteries is also much longer than previously thought : they are cleaner than internal combustion cars powered by diesel or petrol.
There is some opposition to simply moving from fossil-fuel-powered cars to electric cars, as they would still require a large proportion of urban land. On the other hand, there are many types of vehicles that take up little space, such as bicycles and electric motorcycles and scooters. Making cycling and walking over short distances, especially in urban areas, more attractive and feasible with measures such as removing roads and parking spaces and improving cycling infrastructure and footpaths, provides a partial alternative to replacing all fossil-fuelled vehicles with electric vehicles. Although there are as yet very few completely carfree cities, several are banning all cars in parts of the city, such as city centers.

Methods

The banning of fossil-fuelled vehicles of a defined scope requires authorities to enact legislation that restricts them in a certain way. Proposed methods include:

A prohibition on further sales or registration of new vehicles powered with specific fuels from a certain date in a certain area. At the date of implementation, existing vehicles would remain legal to drive on public highways.
A prohibition on the importation of new vehicles powered with specific fuels from a certain date into a certain area. This is planned in countries such as Denmark and Israel; however, some countries, such as Israel, have no legislation on the subject.
A prohibition on any use of certain vehicles powered with specific fuels from a certain date within a certain area. Restrictions such as these are already in place in many European cities, usually in the context of their low-emission zones.

Fuel cell vehicles also allow running on non-fossil fuels.
Cities generally use the introduction of low-emission zones or zero-emission zones, sometimes with an accompanying air quality certificate sticker such as Crit'air, to restrict the use of fossil-fuelled cars in some or all of its territory. These zones are growing in number, size, and strictness. Some city bans in countries such as Italy, Germany, and Switzerland are only temporarily activated during particular times of the day, during winter, or when there is a smog alert ; these do not directly contribute to the phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles, but they make owning and using such vehicles less attractive as their utility is restricted and the cost of driving them increases.
Some countries have given consumers various incentives such as subsidies or tax breaks to stimulate the purchase of electric vehicles, while fossil-fuelled vehicles are taxed increasingly heavily.
Helped by government incentives, Norway became the first country to have the majority of new vehicles sold in 2021 be electric. In January 2022, 88 per cent of new vehicles sold in the country were electric. However, contrary to many false reports on the matter, a ban on new fossil fuel vehicles sale or registration of new fossil fuel vehicles is not planned.

Places with planned fossil-fuel vehicle restrictions

International

At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow multiple governments and companies signed a non-legally-binding declaration to accelerate the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans. They wanted all new cars and vans to not emit any greenhouse gas at the tailpipe by 2035 in leading markets and by 2040 globally. The United States and China did not sign and neither did Germany. Also absent from the list of signatories were major car manufacturers Volkswagen, Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia.

European Union

In 2018, Denmark proposed an EU-wide prohibition on petrol and diesel cars, but that turned out to be contrary to EU regulations. In October 2019, Denmark made a proposal for phasing out fossil fuel vehicles on the member state level by 2030 which was supported by 10 other EU member states.
In July 2021, France opposed a ban on combustion-powered cars and in particular on hybrid vehicles.
In July 2021, the European Commission proposed a 100% reduction of emissions for new sales of cars and vans as of 2035. On 8 June 2022, the European Parliament voted in favour of the proposal of the European Commission, but agreement with the European Union member states was necessary before a final law could be passed.
On 22 June 2022, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner stated that his government would refuse to agree on the ban. But on 29 June 2022, after 16 hours of negotiations, all climate ministers of the 27 EU member states agreed to the commission's proposal to effectively ban the sale of new internal combustion vehicles by 2035. Germany backed the 2035 target, asking the Commission whether hybrid vehicles or -neutral fuels could also comply with the proposal; Frans Timmermans responded that the Commission kept an "open mind", but at the time 'hybrids did not deliver sufficient emissions cuts and alternative fuels were prohibitively expensive.' The law for "zero CO₂ emissions for new cars and vans in 2035" was approved by the European Parliament on 14 February 2023.
In September 2024, Italy's industry minister called on the EU to reassess its 2035 ban on petrol and diesel cars, suggesting an earlier review for clarity. The Italian government pushed for greater flexibility in achieving decarbonization goals and a more gradual transition from combustion engines.

Countries

Countries with proposed bans or implementing 100% sales of zero-emissions vehicles include China, Japan, Singapore, the UK, South Korea, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Canada, the 12 U.S. states that adhered to California's Zero-Emission Vehicle Program, Sri Lanka, Cabo Verde, and Costa Rica.

Country	Start year	Status	Scope	Details
Armenia	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Austria	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Azerbaijan	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Belgium	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Cambodia	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Canada	2035	Climate plan	Diesel, petrol, non-electric	New light-duty vehicle sales.
Cape Verde	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Chile	2035	Chilean government Green New Deal	Diesel, petrol	New vehicle sales.
People's Republic of China	2035	Government climate plan	Diesel, petrol	New private vehicle sales and registration.
Costa Rica	2050	Proposed by Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado as a "roadway" in 2019.	Diesel, petrol	New light vehicle sales.
Croatia	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Cyprus	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Denmark	2035	EU regulation	Diesel, petrol	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Dominican Republic	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Egypt	2040	Government plan	Diesel, petrol, non-electric	New car sales.
El Salvador	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Ethiopia	2024	Ethiopia's Transport and Logistics Ministries announcement	Non-electric	New imported vehicles by 2024.
Finland	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Germany	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Ghana	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Greece	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Holy See	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Hong Kong	2035	Hong Kong Legislature plan, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic Of China.	Diesel, petrol	New private vehicle sales and registration.
Iceland	2030	climate plan	Cars that run exclusively on Diesel, petrol	New car sales, but with exceptions for regional considerations.
India	2034 2040	Government plan Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Petrol, diesel	New vehicle sales.
Indonesia	2050	Proposed by the Government as a "roadway" in 2021	Diesel, petrol	All motorcycle sales, all car sales.
Ireland	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Israel	2030	Pledge by the Minister of Energy, partially adopted in a Government proposal Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting, non-electric	New car sales, newly imported vehicles.
Italy	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Japan	2035	Japanese government plan	cease sales of new Diesel-, petrol-only cars	Diesel and petrol hybrid cars to continue to be sold indefinitely.
Kenya	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Republic of Korea	2035	Government climate plan	Petrol, diesel	New vehicle sales.
Liechtenstein	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Lithuania	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Luxembourg	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Macau	2035	Macau Legislature plan, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic Of China.	Diesel, petrol	New private vehicle sales and registration.
Malaysia	2050	Malaysia Net-Zero Emission by 2050	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2050 at latest.
Malta	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Mexico	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Morocco	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Netherlands	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
New Zealand	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Pakistan	2040	National Electric Vehicles Policy	Emitting	90 percent of the New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Paraguay	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Poland	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Portugal	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Rwanda	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Singapore	2023 1 January 2025 2025 2030	February 2021 Climate plan, brought forward ten years earlier since 2020 announcement.	Petrol, Diesel, non-electrified	All new cars procured and registered by the public sector will be clean energy vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions from 2023 onwards with all non-zero tailpipe emission public sector vehicles to be phased out by 2035. All new airside light vehicles to be of fully electric models from 2025 onwards. Sales and Registration of all new Diesel-only Cars and Taxis discontinued since 1 January 2025. Sales and Registration of all new Diesel-only Commercial Vehicles and Petrol-only Vehicles to cease by 2030. All new vehicles to run on cleaner energy from 2030, phase-out of internal combustion engines completed by 2040.
Slovenia	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Spain	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Sweden	2035	EU regulation	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2035.
Taiwan	2040	Government Climate plan announced by the Environmental Protection Administration.	Diesel, petrol	All bus and government-owned car use, all motorcycle sales, all car sales.
Thailand	2035	Only proposals of National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee, not yet effective in any way.	Diesel, petrol	New car sales and new car registration.
Turkey	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration and declaration on lorries and buses	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Ukraine	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
United Kingdom	2030 2035, 2040	Government plan	Diesel, petrol	Hybrid cars can be sold until 2035, but sales of those powered only by petrol or diesel is banned from 2030. However smaller British firms are allowed to sell petrol cars beyond 2030. Sale of diesel lorries and buses is banned from 2040.
Uruguay	2040	Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration	Emitting	New vehicle sales by 2040 at latest.
Vietnam	2040–2050	Program of Ministry of Transport of Vietnam; Vietnam Government Decision No. 876/QD-TTg, dated 22 July 2022	Emitting	All vehicles on road must use electricity or net-zero fuel from 2050.

Some politicians in some countries have made broad announcements but have implemented no legislation and therefore there is no phase-out and no binding legislation. Ireland, for example, had made announcements but ultimately did not ban diesel nor petrol vehicles.
The International Energy Agency predicted in 2021 that 70% of India's new car sales will be fossil powered in 2030, despite earlier government announcements that were discarded in 2018. In November 2021, the Indian government was amongst 30 national governments and six major automakers who pledged to phase out the sale of all new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 worldwide, and by 2035 in "leading markets".