The European Parliament and Council provisionally agreed Thursday on stricter tailpipe emissions standards that will effectively ban the sale of new cars and vans burning fossil fuels by 2035, and accelerate the transition by setting new 2030 emissions targets. (The Logic)

Talking point: The updated measure, which has been on the table since 2021, was tightened to require 2030 reductions in vehicle emissions to be relative to 2021 levels instead of 1990 levels. The EU’s goal to eliminate 100 per cent of tailpipe emissions by 2035 is an ambitious one. Transport Canada also has a 2035 goal, but instead of reducing tailpipe emissions to zero, it will require that all new automobiless sold by that year be zero-emissions vehicles, the current definition of which includes plug-in hybrids that still have internal combustion engines.