Imaz reminds us that electric cars have emissions too

CEO of Repsol, Josu John Imazcalled the decision to ban the sale of passenger cars with internal combustion engines in the European Union from 2035 a mistake, given that it is based on the “false concept” that electric cars do not pollute the environment.

This is how Imaz spoke at the IX Automotive Suppliers Meeting “Sustainability with Competitiveness”, organised this Wednesday at Ifema by the Spanish Association of Automotive Suppliers (Sernauto), where he assured that the electric car does indeed have emissions, “even though they are not in the tailpipe”.

In particular, Imaz said that the European Union has proposed solutions that, in his view, are “deeply flawed, such as a ban on the sale of passenger cars with internal combustion engines from 2035.” “This emphasis is based on a false premise, a false concept, which is that an electric car has no emissions,” Imaz explained.

However, Repsol’s CEO says renewable electricity is part of the solution, but it is not the whole story, just like the electric car.

Therefore, in order to reduce CO2 emissions, “an inclusive approach is needed, in which we do not give up any of the industrial technological solutions that can help us achieve this goal of reducing the maximum number of tons of CO2, which is what we should be looking for as a society,” Imaz detailed.

On the other hand, Imaz said Europe must develop a strategy to guarantee supplies, “avoiding energy monocultures” that create dependence on the extraction of rare earths and scarce metals from other countries, relying “only” on electrification technology that creates a non-diversified form of energy.

An ambitious energy transition

Imaz stressed that the energy transition must be approached with ambition and determination: “This is a difficult task (…) because we are facing an energy transition, decarbonization, which is unforgivable, and we must also make this decarbonization compatible with economic and social development,” he explained.

In this context, Imaz advocates decarbonisation “but without having a negative impact on industrial competitiveness, quality employment, as well as on the progressiveness of social policies, without jeopardising the opportunities of future generations.”

“We have abandoned the development of a single energy market in Europe,” Imaz added, explaining that “this has made us dependent on Russia.”