Members of the German government have just passed a resolution to ban the sale of internal-combustion engines in the European Union by 2030. Only zero-emissions vehicles would be allowed on the market after that time, according to the resolution.

Shown above, Volkswagen ID electric-car concept
German news magazine Der Spiegel broke the news on Saturday; an English-language report on the resolution can be found at Forbes. The resolution was passed in Germany’s Bundesrat, the nation’s legislative body representing the sixteen German states, with across-the-aisle support.
The resolution implores the EU Commission to ban the sale of new vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engines starting in 2030; vehicles sold before the ban would still be allowed, but after 2030, automakers would be banned from selling new fossil-fuel-powered vehicles in the EU. As Bertel Schmitt at Forbes points out, the Bundesrat has no direct authority over the EU and cannot demand changes to the EU’s transportation regulations. But with the largest population and the most powerful economy in the EU, German government decisions exert huge influence over the EU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. According to Der Spiegel, the Bundesrat’s resolutions encourage the EU Commission to “review the current practices of taxation and dues with regard to a stimulation of emission-free mobility,” seemingly meaning an increase in EU incen...