European Commission (EC) officials have approved Germany’s EUR70m (US$85m) public support scheme for electric buses and charging infrastructure in the country.
The Commission found German plans to support the purchase of electric buses and related recharging infrastructure by public transport operators to be in line with European Union State aid rules.
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“This scheme is another positive example of how to fight global warming,” said Competition Policy Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager.
“In line with the EU environmental goals, it will give public transport operators an incentive to invest in low or zero emissions vehicles with the clear objective of reducing CO2 emissions and improving air quality”.
The scheme set up by Germany with a budget of EUR70m will support public transport operators until the end of 2021, covering additional costs for; acquisition of electric and plug-in hybrid buses rather than conventional diesel buses; and construction of related electric charging infrastructure required for operation of these buses.
The Commission considers this public scheme incentivises bus operators to invest in this type of vehicle and in the necessary charging infrastructure. Furthermore, to qualify for the support, public transport operators must ensure their electric and plug-in hybrid buses are operated with electricity from renewable sources.
The measure is also in line with the European Strategy for low-emission mobility and its support for the move towards zero-emission vehicles in cities and for creating a market for such vehicles.
Energy efficiency is key to Europe’s clean energy transition and a central element for achieving the Paris Agreement pledge to cut emissions in the EU by at least 40% by 2030.
On this basis, the Commission concluded the contribution to EU environmental goals of the scheme outweighs any potential distortion of competition brought about by the public financing and has approved it under EU State aid rules.
In this respect, Member States have many options on alternative technologies to reduce exhaust emissions such as retrofitting of diesel buses.
