Six major car manufacturers have pledged to phase out the production of fossil-fuel vehicles around the world by 2040.
The announcement was made during ongoing climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. A number of countries have also joined the pledge, including New Zealand and Poland, joining a host of other companies already committed to only selling zero-emission cars and vans by 2040 or earlier. The U.S. didn’t join the pledge but states such as California and New York have signed up.
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Making the pledge were Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, BYD, and Jaguar Land Rover. Uber also joined in. Notably absent were the likes of Volkswagen AG, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, BMW, and Hyundai.
In a statement, GM said it is “proud to now stand alongside other companies, governments, and civil society organizations to support the declaration to commit to working towards a transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035.”
Executive director of Greenpeace Germany, Martin Kaiser, said it was concerning that so many major companies and countries haven’t joined the pledge.
“To stop new fossil fuels, we need to cut off our dependency,” he told Reuters. “That means moving on from combustion engines towards electric vehicles and creating clean public transport networks without delay.”
One source from the automotive industry says some car manufacturers are wary of joining the pledge as it commits them to a shift in technology but doesn’t force countries to commit to establishing the necessary charging and grid infrastructure to support such a change.
