Some European statesmen are ostentatiously fighting to postpone the ban on petrol engines for two years or three years or even five years. Is this of any use? Not in the slightest.
Once it becomes known that such a ban will come at some point in the future, the industry will grind to a halt. No one will invest in upgrading. No one will make the effort to become an internal combustion engine designer. Only enough will be spent on maintaining equipment to last the next years. Not a penny more. And so on.
So in a few years, there will be no choice but to shut it down anyway, because there will be no staff, no capability, the equipment will be at the end of its life cycle… There’s nothing strange about that. That’s exactly what happened in Germany with nuclear power, and that’s exactly what the coal industry is heading towards.
So, as always. Just a worthless gesture to the public.