The internal combustion engine’s woes date back to well before the advent of the engine. Back to the 1850s and the industrial revolution, in fact. That’s when fossil fuel, in the form of coal, was first used in sizeable quantities to manufacture goods to be sold for profit.

The gradual and harmful offshoot of this wide-scale mechanization went largely undetected and unquantified for 150 years. However, in December 2015, after noting the increase in ‘natural disasters’ related to weather, most of the world’s industrialized nations came together to sign the Paris Accord, pledging to curtail Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. In so doing, the world hopes to cap temperatures to below two degrees Celsius above those that prevailed before industrialization. This was later cut to 1.5 degrees C.

So, with CO2 accounting for about 76% of GHGs, and with road transport contributing about 14% of the total global CO2 emissions – the fourth highest emitter behind electricity and heat generation, agriculture, and industry - the automotive industry is in the crosshairs of regulators around the world.

And with the, often non-essential, typical passenger vehicle emitting about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year, accounting for 45% of all transport emissions, it is natural that these will be targeted first, with regulators looking to promote all-electric cars.

Whilst there are many ways to reduce emissions, the most effective is probably an outright ban of the internal combustion engine.

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These Countries Already Have Plans To Ban The Internal Combustion Engine

Europe and Canada Are Banning Old Internal Combustion Engines
Via: AACA Forums - Antique Automobile Club of America

In 2020 during a discussion with clean-energy research group BloombergNEF, Fatih Birol who leads the IEA, put forward that oil demand could only be reduced with stronger government policies promoting electric cars and regulating petrochemicals.

Importantly, leading vehicle markets such as the United States, China, and Germany lack a binding, long-term commitment toward a full transition away from ICE vehicles. In the United States, the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that sets a zero-emission vehicle sales target by 2040 has not been passed.

Most of these bans aren’t codified into laws - at least not with repercussions for cheaters. Instead, policymakers use them to support ambitious policies that are needed to eventually remove ICEs from the roads.

As a result, initiatives such as the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (IZEVA) have agreed, although not legislated, to make all new passenger vehicle sales zero-emission by 2050 at the latest. Of the 18 countries, states, and provinces that have joined the IZEVA, seven - British Columbia, California, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and now Canada and Germany - have officially committed to earlier 100% ICE passenger car phase-out targets.

The problem with the EU is that, although they have overtaken China in the rollout of EVs, the timeline for ending ICE sales varies dramatically across the Union. For instance: Norway and the Netherlands have committed to ending ICE sales in less than 5 years; Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, and Sweden have targeted 10 years, with Scotland planning on 2032 and the United Kingdom planning to cease sales of all ICEs in 2035. France has a target to end the sale of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles using fossil fuels by 2040, and Spain has a draft law that would only allow the sale of zero-emission vehicles from 2040.

In the case of Germany, by becoming a member of IZEVA, the country has implicitly agreed to phase out combustion engine vehicles by 2050 at the latest; however, this commitment is not yet reflected in the national Climate Protection Plan.

The vastly differing time frames across the region create several problems, not least of all for motor manufacturers who have model cycle times of up to eight years. So spurred on by environmentalists, regions such as the EU and Canada are trying to establish a firm timeframe for the banning of the internal combustion engine.

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This Is How Europe and Canada Plan To Ban The Internal Combustion Engine

Europe and Canada Want to Abandon Internal Combustion Engined Cars
Via: Greentech Media

On Wednesday the 14th of July the European Commission, which drafts EU policies, will lay out in detail, plans for the bloc's 27 countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. Reuters reports that the first draft will propose 12 policies across four areas (energy, industry, transport, and heating), including a soon-to-be-introduced jet fuel tax.

The EU has so far cut emissions by 24% from 1990 levels. However, much of the low-hanging fruit, such as reducing reliance on coal to generate power, has already been plucked. Further reductions over the next decade will require bolder actions. As a consequence, tighter emission limits for cars are expected to end new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035 or 2040.

The EU package arrives days after California suffered one of the highest temperatures ever recorded on earth, the latest in a torrent of brutal heatwaves that have hit Russia, Northern Europe, and Canada.

In an attempt to halt global warming Canada has announced a raft of measures aimed at drastically reducing GHG emissions. Amongst these are plans to reform the transport sector. The transport sector contributes 25% of Canada’s emissions.

By investing in cleaner transportation the Canadian government believes they can create good jobs, be more competitive in the low-carbon economy, and improve its citizens’ quality of life.

The Canadian province of British Columbia is already one step ahead of the federal government in adopting binding transport-sector regulations. The local government has instructed automakers to gradually increase the sales share of new zero-emission passenger cars and light commercial vans to 10% by 2025, 30% by 2030, and 100% by 2040.

This has given the national government a framework for a cohesive roadmap for the phasing out of the ICE, although this has not yet been drafted into a legally binding regulation. The government’s light-duty zero-emission vehicles policy sales targets are set at 10 percent by 2025, 30 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040.

To support the transition Canada's government has set aside $600M to build charging infrastructure and subsidize EVs, providing a purchase incentive of up to $5,000 on eligible zero-emission vehicles.

While the details of the transition to zero-emissions mobility might vary from region to region, Europe and Canada’s plans to ban the internal combustion engine are very much in line with those of other industrialized countries, and importantly align with the consensus view of many vehicle manufacturers.