European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton expresses concern over the “gigantic disruption” likely to be caused by the EU’s decision to ban combustion cars by 2035.
In an interview with several European media outlets published on Friday, Mr Breton said that he worried about huge lay-offs in the sector.
The car industry provides close to 13 million direct and indirect jobs and Mr Breton expects the transition to electric cars to wipe out 600,000 of these.
“What proportion of employees will it be possible to convert to electric cars and which part will have to be reconverted [to other sectors]?” Mr Breton said, quoted by French daily Les Echos.
Mr Breton said he had insisted that EU legislators include a review clause when they voted for the ban last week.
The clause could be activated in 2026 and allow the 2035 deadline to be pushed back if needed.
“I said that it was very important that we have a review clause as soon as possible, so that we have the time to react if it is necessary — because we are talking about a gigantic changeover of an entire industrial sector, in the largest sense,” Mr Breton said, online news website Politico’s Brussels newsletter Playbook reported.
Playbook described Mr Breton’s warnings as meaning that “he’s now the carmarkers’ closest thing to a friend in Brussels" while Les Echos wondered whether Mr Breton was "saying out loud what the European car-making industry has refrained from saying publicly".
It is standard practice to have review clauses and “not anything to get particularly excited about”, an EU commission representative said on Friday.
“There is no blurring of the political message here," said energy spokesman Tim McPhie, responding to a question from The National.
"It is very clear for the co-legislator that the 2035 target is going into law and now we are doing everything we can to help make that a reality," Mr McPhie said.
"You have a huge move as well within the industry, manufacturers setting their own targets, sometimes even more ambitious than this, in terms of when they will stop selling CO2-emitting vehicles in Europe."
Mr Breton also said that Europe will need to figure out how to buy enough raw material to switch to electric vehicles.
“We estimated that we will need 15 times more lithium, four times more cobalt and graphite. And we will need three times more nickel by 2030,” he said.
Europe will have to generate 150GW more electricity, the equivalent of 15 times more than it currently does, according to Mr Breton.
The commissioner said that Europe needs seven million public charging points by 2030 and currently has only 350,000, with 70 per cent of them in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Mr Breton encouraged producers to continue making combustion-engined vehicles despite the looming ban because non-European countries will transition less rapidly to electric vehicles.
“The market of the combustion engine will remain very important outside of Europe. We have to help our industries to maintain a presence there,” he said.
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
'Ashkal'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Youssef%20Chebbi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fatma%20Oussaifi%20and%20Mohamed%20Houcine%20Grayaa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
