Six major carmakers and 31 countries say they will phase out sales of petrol cars

Glasgow, Scotland

AT least 6 major vehicle makers - including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo - and 31 national governments pledged on Wednesday (Nov 10) to work towards phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 worldwide, and by 2035 in "leading markets".

But some of the world's biggest car manufacturers, including Toyota, Volkswagen and the Nissan-Renault alliance, did not join the pledge, which is not legally binding.

And the governments of the United States, China and Japan, three of the largest car markets, also abstained.

The announcement, made during international climate talks here, was hailed by climate advocates as yet another sign that the days of the internal combustion engine could soon be numbered. Electric vehicles continue to set new global sales records each year and major car companies have recently begun investing tens of billions of dollars to retool their factories and churn out new battery-powered cars and light trucks.

"Having these major players making these commitments, though we need to make sure that they follow through, is really significant," said Margo Oge, a former senior US air quality official who now advises both environmental groups and vehicle companies. "It really tells us that these companies, and their boards, accept that the future is electric." The vehicle makers that signed the pledge accounted for roughly one-quarter of global sales in 2019.

Countries that joined the coalition included Britain, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The addition of India was especially notable, since it is the world's fourth-largest vehicle market and has not previously committed to eliminating emissions from its cars on a specific timeline.

Other countries vowing for the first time to sell only zero-emissions vehicles by a set date included Turkey, Croatia, Ghana and Rwanda.

California and Washington state also signed the pledge. Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed an executive order saying that only new zero-emissions vehicles would be sold in the state by 2035, though regulators have not yet issued rules to make that happen. Washington had not previously made such a formal pledge.

Worldwide, transportation accounts for roughly one-fifth of humanity's carbon dioxide emissions that are responsible for climate change, with a little less than half of that coming from passenger vehicles such as cars and vans. NYTIMES