News flooded German media outlets over the past days that a famous German trademark will soon be history: the internal combustion engine. Having grown up in Karlsruhe, the birthplace of the first automobile powered by a combustion engine and its pioneer Carl Benz, these breaking news feel particularly close to home.
The question of whether we should ban motorvehicles with combustion engines has been much debated by the German government over the past days, in search for a unified stance on the matter that was going to be voted on by the EU. The traffic light coalition appeared divided – as they are with so many issues.
The Green Party and SPD were in full support to achieve climate goals; and Christian Lindner (FDP), after having initially strongly rejected a ban, eventually caved into the Green Party and SPD – to the bemusement of those against the measure. Thomas Bareiß (CDU) criticised Lindner by comparing his action to “starting off as a tiger and ending up as a bedside rug”, a metamorphosis that often costs the bedside rug the public support it once had as a tiger.
Finally, a decision was made. But it wasn’t one in favour of the combustion engine. From 2035, only climate-friendly new vehicles will be allowed to be sold on the car market. Proudly, Federal Minister for Environment Steffi Lemke (Green) announced in a TV interview that “from 2035, no automotive will be approved that emits CO2” – the end of the Karlsruher original. Or is it?
The door is still open. A final compromise has to be negotiated within the EU on whether that also entails combustion engines powered by so-called eFuels, artificial eco-friendly petrol. That is one possibility that Christian Lindner in particular had hoped for. The Federal Minister for Finance had argued for remaining technology-neutral in regard to the future of driving.
In Lindner’s words: “[The engine] must be able to be further developed and ideally by German companies, who will secure jobs with their newly refined technologies”. BMW chairman Oliver Zipse shares Lindner’s concerns: “To put all one’s eggs in one basket is an industrial-political mistake”.
The debate around the combustion engine really boils down to two opposing views: those who believe in the state’s necessity to be the maker of change and those who prefer to leave the innovation-generation to the engineers and entrepreneurs. BMW chairman Zipse said about this process that “a variety of ideas and innovation – not prohibition – has made Germany become the strong location for industry it is today”.
Considering that Germany only contributes 1.85 per cent of worldwide CO2 emissions, the prohibition of the combustion engine is questionable to begin with, let alone when enforced upon individuals by government officials. Rather than creating barriers by enforcing prohibition, the government would do some good by removing those barriers that hinder innovation.
Lower taxes, less regulation and less bureaucracy would create a business-environment in which entrepreneurs are incentivised to fulfil the demands of many customers to be more environmentally friendly. Only under such circumstances can creativity truly flourish to produce the things we take for granted today – may that be eFuels, electric cars or the good old combustion engine.
