Combustion engines are a technology of the past, says Volvo

There’s been a distinct lack of communication from car manufacturers about this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), but Volvo Cars has bucked the trend, becoming a founding member of the ‘Accelerating to Zero Coalition’.

The Accelerating to Zero Coalition was launched at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Coalition consists of a broad group of stakeholders committed to facilitating and increasing the pace of the transition to zero-emission mobility.

It builds on last year’s Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Vehicles at COP26. Signatories committed to work towards making 100 per cent of global car and van sales free of tailpipe emissions by 2040, and no later than 2035 in leading markets (Europe, China, Japan and the US).

The formation of the Coalition addresses the need for an international platform for global zero-tailpipe-emission vehicle (ZEV) leadership. Through close collaboration, it aims to help create the right conditions to boost zero-tailpipe-emission cars and vans, including through the electrification of corporate fleets and the development of a comprehensive charging infrastructure.

During COP27, Volvo Cars also called on countries to step up their own climate action and meet the threat of global warming.

Volvo Cars Chief Executive Jim Rowan welcomed the formation of the Coalition and collaborative approach as part of the Coalition launch during COP27, and encouraged more manufacturers to sign the Declaration and join the Coalition. He added: “Combustion engines are a technology of the past and we must abandon them if we are to meet the greatest threat facing humanity – climate change.”

With its ambition to be a fully electric car company by 2030, Volvo Cars says that it intends to influence the pace of the automotive industry’s transition to full electrification.

The announcement comes a week after the launch of Volvo’s new fully electric flagship, the Volvo EX90. The company intends to launch one new electric car every year in the coming years.

Separately, Volvo Cars joined more than 200 other businesses and civil society organisations in signing a call, organised by the We Mean Business Coalition, on national governments to increase their climate ambition and delivery.

So far only 29 out of 194 countries have done so after COP26, despite pledging to do so under the Glasgow Climate Pact. The call makes clear that 1.5 degrees of global warming is a limit rather than a target, and that urgent national action is essential if the world is not to exceed this limit.

In addition, during a panel discussion hosted by Volvo Cars, its Head of Sustainability Anders Kärrberg also announced it is endorsing the Call on Carbon initiative. Together with Inter IKEA, H&M Group, SSAB and others, the initiative urges governments to introduce an effective policy framework for carbon pricing.

As a signatory of the Call on Carbon, Volvo Cars is calling on country delegates to:

1. Back up national Paris Agreement commitments with effective, robust, reliable and fit-for-purpose carbon pricing instruments that shape a cost-effective investment path to net zero

2. Align carbon-pricing instruments where appropriate between countries to create a stable and predictable investment environment

3. Finalise the rules for international market mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This will not only support cost-effective mitigation efforts, create a level playing field and minimise carbon leakage, it will also enable markets to raise their level of ambition.