[thatwasunusual]

> I can only personally apologize to all other EU nations. A party with about 5% popularity is holding our government hostage.

I can relate; we have the same in Norway, but I don't see it as a bad thing. Sure, it's an annoyance, but I would rather have those 5% a voice than none at all. Or else we'll run into the problem of having a few parties having too much power.

You are also right that this is just _today_; people change their mind, and it's a long time until 2035.

For the article itself:

Set aside the fantastical tabloid headline, it's important to notice that: "In a reversal that stunned many EU insiders, the German government decided to push for a loophole that would allow the sale of combustion engine cars beyond the 2035 deadline — as long as they run on synthetic fuels."

So, keep the combustion engine, but make it env-friendly.

I don't see a problem with it.

[j_jochem]

The problem is that it is impossible to create an engine that will run on synthetic fuels, but is guaranteed to never run on fossil fuels even if modified / hacked, because they’re chemically identical for all practical purposes. There might be some type of DRM-like solution, but given the economical incentives involved, that will be circumvented by car owners. The whole thing is an incredibly stupid idea and will probably lead to the ICE ban being ineffective.

[haneefmubarak]

Right, the way you solve this isn't by regulating the cars or their engines themselves (beyond certifying tested performance on synthetic fuels) - instead, you simply regulate the sales of petroleum derived fuel and only allow the sale of synthetic fuels.

[bryanlarsen]

In 2035 cars from 2015 will still exist and need to be fueled, let alone cars from 2034. And people driving 20 year old cars can't afford to spend 6x the price for synthetic fuels.

[schiffern]

>can't afford to spend 6x the price for synthetic fuels

Exactly. This is why anyone with a functioning brain knows that Germany's e-fuel proposal is nothing but a climate bait and switch.

The cold hard reality is "electrification or bust." Germany is choosing bust, apparently!

This is bullish for Tesla (and also China's EVs). Germany's dysfunction is their opportunity.

[DFHippie]

> So, keep the combustion engine, but make it env-friendly.

> I don't see a problem with it.

The problem is that the synthetic fuels require a huge amount of energy to produce. This decreases the quantity of carbon-neutral energy available for all other initiatives.