Günther calls the demand for e-fuels for passenger cars a phantom debate

Saxony's Energy Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) considers demands for e-fuels in regular cars to be a "phantom debate" and "market-economic nonsense".

"With e-fuels, only about one-sixth of the energy remains. Anyone who wants to put cars with e-fuels on the road will need many times more wind turbines, much more grid expansion, and will have to pay many times more at the pump than now," argued the minister.

He is curious how Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) intends to explain this to people. E-fuels are an energy waste.

Kretschmer: Do not put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to individual mobility

Kretschmer welcomed the proposal by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) for exemptions for e-fuels from the internal combustion engine ban by 2035.

"Our climate policy must be competitive, open to technology, and limited to a framework. Otherwise, we endanger our prosperity and the acceptance among the population," he said. Indeed, one should not put all one's eggs in one basket when it comes to individual mobility; politics does not know better than the market and tens of millions of drivers. The exemption for e-fuels can only be a first step.

Günther countered: There is no "end to the combustion engine ban." The EU Commission President has merely announced that she will examine exceptions for the phase-out. The whether and the details are completely open. By making statements about an end to internal combustion engines, people are being led to believe that their cars are going to be taken away from them. This is only about new registrations. One should not make people believe that e-fuels are a marketable product.

"Behind such populist moves lies another very big problem. These constant rollbacks create uncertainty. And uncertainty harms the economy," emphasized Günther.