June 29, 2022

Responding to the EU announcement this morning, that European governments have agreed to a 100% CO2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vans, SumOfUs campaigner Eoin Dubsky said:

"This is a big win for the climate movement, for green jobs, and for cleaner air in Europe. Carmakers including Toyota lobbied against this law, but Environment Ministers stood their ground. Will Toyota continue lobbying against ambitious climate laws around the world, or will the company put its full weight behind the fight to stay under 1.5C of global warming?”

SumOfUs delivered a petition to Toyota signed by more than 110,000 members, including 10,000 Toyota drivers, demanding that the carmaker stop “lobbying to prevent electric vehicle mandates and clean air laws”, on 12 June, just hours before the European Parliament debated the new CO2 emission performance standards for the 27-country bloc.

In line with the recent warning from the IPCC, which reports that a switch to full electromobility is critical to attaining the Paris Agreement goals, the world is phasing out internal combustion and moving to electric powertrains due to rapidly shifting consumer demand and regulatory interventions. According to Bloomberg, 13% of all new cars sales globally in Q4 2021 were EVs.

However, according to analysts at InfluenceMap (Bloomberg report here), Toyota is working harder than any other auto company to undo this progress and to slow the shift to electric mobility, and plans for only 14% of its total production to be EV by the end of the decade. According to this report, Toyota will miss its Paris Agreement commitments.

ENDS

Contact:

Eoin Dubsky, SumOfUs <eoin@sumofus.org> +31641636410

Notes:

• EU Council statement: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/06/29/fit-for-55-council-reaches-general-approaches-relating-to-emissions-reductions-and-removals-and-their-social-impacts/ 
• SumOfUs petition to Toyota: https://sumofus.org/toyota   
• InfluenceMap page on Toyota: https://content.influencemap.org/company/Toyota-Motor  

SumOfUs is a global community of millions committed to ensuring corporations and governments prioritize people and planet over profit. It is funded principally through small-donations from grassroots members worldwide.