SPAIN SETS 2040 BAN ON SALE OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLES

Spain has passed a law that bans the sale of vehicles with internal combustion vehicles by 2040 and will prohibit them from plying the streets in 2050. The law, entitled “The Climate Change and Energy Transition (CCET) Bill” seeks to achieve "zero" carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by 2050.

The new law seeks to boost the use of electric cars and renewable energies, with electric recharging points being gradually installed in service stations with the highest sales volume. Besides, the Spanish government will encourage the use of bicycles, the teleSUR report of May 19, 2020 said.

CCET, which is in line with international commitments to combat climate change such as the Paris Agreement, seeks that at least 70 percent of electricity must be generated from renewable sources by 2030.

According to government calculations, the ecological transition will attract over 200,000 million euros of investment in the next 10 years and will generate between 250,000 and 350,000 net annual jobs. With the entry into force of the law, the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") for gas extraction will end and new authorizations for exploration, investigation, or exploitation of hydrocarbons will no longer be granted throughout the national territory.