EU should spare carmakers from ‘punitive’ emissions fines, says Scholz

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The EU should refrain from “punitive” fines on carmakers that fail to meet emissions standards, the German chancellor has said, adding to the heated debate on the future of the key European industry,Olaf Scholz, who is running for re-election in February at a time when Germany’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is planning unprecedented plant closures in its home market, made the comments after meeting fellow EU leaders in Brussels,His intervention comes days before the sector faces stricter standards on cutting carbon emissions from their new cars,From 2025 until 2029 the average new car in Europe should emit no more than 93,6 grams of CO2 for each kilometre, to get the industry on track for the phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2035.

Carmakers that fail to meet these targets, which are measured by fleet averages, face fines of €95 (£75) for every gram of CO2 above the target.The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, an industry lobby group, has said carmakers risk multibillion-euro fines that could otherwise be invested in the switch to electric and zero-emission vehicles.The industry has argued for a rethink amid falling sales of electric cars in Europe, while it faces intense competition on EVs from subsidised Chinese rivals.The European Commission said on Thursday that a “strategic dialogue” on the future of the European car industry would launch in January “with a view to swiftly proposing and implementing measures the sector urgently needs”.Its president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “We need to support this industry in the deep and disruptive transition ahead.

”The 2025 target was set by EU lawmakers in 2019, after a proposal in 2017.Campaigners argue the industry has had plenty of time to prepare, but carmakers say there has been a profound shift in the economic climate, as European car sales are still below pre-pandemic levels.Alex Keynes, the cars policy manager at the thinktank Transport & Environment, said: “The car CO2 regulation is one of the key and most important and effective pieces of climate legislation the EU has, and is so effective in part because of the dissuasive fines that are inbuilt into the regulation.”Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionAny removal of fines for non-compliance “essentially renders the regulation toothless”, he added.“So you don’t effectively have any targets if you don’t have any fines.

”According to Transport & Environment’s research, nearly all carmakers met the 2020-21 target or missed it by only a small margin, despite concerns in the preceding years about fines,
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UK house price predictions for 2025: with pay rising and rates falling, they’ll just keep going up

It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly.But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.Looking ahead to the new year, house prices are predicted to grow at a similar or slightly faster rate in 2025 – before accelerating to as much as 5

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From delays to refunds: how Australia’s air passenger charter could affect your travel rights

The Albanese government has bowed to pressure from Qantas and other airlines to not pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.The omission of a compensation scheme in the government’s draft aviation customer rights charter follows claims from airlines such as Qantas that compensation rules – which exist in the European Union – would force them to preempt costs and increase air fares. The charter was released on Sunday.When the government announced it would introduce an airline passenger charter of rights – to fall under a forthcoming industry ombuds scheme – it left open the door for the interim ombudsperson, Pauline Sullivan, to determine if a compensation scheme should be in the charter she was tasked with drafting.However, such a scheme is not included in the draft charter, which is now open for public consultation until the end of February

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The god illusion: why the pope is so popular as a deepfake image

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Can I survive for 24 hours without GPS navigation?

Taxi and ambulance drivers are less likely than other workers to die of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a Harvard study published in the British Medical Journal.On the one hand, it makes total sense, navigation and spatial memory belonging in the hippocampus, which is the first region of the brain the disease atrophies. On the other hand, life expectancy is significantly lower than average in both jobs – 68 and 64 respectively – and Alzheimer’s typically afflicts those over 65.Nevertheless, there is a good argument to ditch the GPS simply because memory, particularly spatial, is use-it-or-lose-it, as a study in Scientific Reports demonstrated in 2020. We have become more and more reliant on Google Maps, even using it for journeys we know well

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Merry Crambo again for Fergal O’Brien after Long Walk repeat at Ascot

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New Zealand lose to Australia: second women’s one-day international – as it happened

Thank you for joining me this afternoon, and Martin earlier in the day. We’ll see you back here bright and early on Monday for more, but in the meantime here is the report from Australia’s victory.It was a comprehensive victory set up by Annabel Sutherland’s stunning 105 from just 81 balls – her second ODI ton in succession. Four other Australians reached 25 or more but none pressed on to a major contribution.Australia were tidy with the ball without being spectacular