EU countries approve climate measures after long talks
EU countries approve climate measures after long talks
EU countries approve climate measures after long talks
Rice farmer Giovanni Daghetta stands on a dried rice field in Mortara, Italy, on June 27, 2022. (Luca Bruno / AP)
BRUSSELS -
European Union countries reached a deal following hard-fought talks that dragged into early Wednesday to back stricter climate rules that would eliminate carbon emissions from new cars by 2035.
The 27 EU members found agreement on draft legislation aimed at slashing EU greenhouse gases by at least 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 rather than by a previously agreed 40%.
"A long but good day for climate action: The council's decisions on Fitfor55 are a big step towards delivering the EU Green Deal," said Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice-president in charge of the Green Deal, after the meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg.
The agreement on the five laws proposed by the EU's executive arm last year paves the way for final negotiations with the European Parliament. EU lawmakers are backing ambitious bloc-wide targets. final approval of the legislative package requires the Parliament to resolve differences with the bloc's national governments over various details.
"The council is now ready to negotiate with the European Parliament on concluding the package, thereby placing the European Union more than ever in the vanguard of fighting climate change," said Agnes Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for the energy transition.
The decision to introduce a 100% CO2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vans would effectively prohibit the sale in the 27-nation bloc of new cars powered by gasoline or diesel.
Europe's leading clean transport campaign group, Transport and Environment, said the EU government's agreement was "historic" as it "breaks the hold of the oil industry over transport."
"It's game over for the internal combustion engine in Europe," the group said.
Greenpeace was more skeptical, saying the 2035 deadline is too late to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
The deal poses a mighty challenge for German automakers, who have long relied on sales of increasingly big, gas-guzzling vehicles for their profits.
Following intense haggling within the three-party government, particularly between the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, German officials voted in favor of the compromise overnight.
The German government said the deal will also see the Commission make a proposal that will allow cars which run exclusively on climate neutral e-fuels to continue to be sold after 2035.
"This is a huge step forward and steers the transport sector onto the path of climate neutrality," Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, a member of the Greens, said. By declaring that only cars and light utility vehicles which emit no CO2 can be sold from 2035, "we are sending a clear signal that we need to meet the climate targets. This gives the car industry the planning security it needs."
The EU wants to drastically reduce gas emission from transportation by 2050 and promote electric cars, but a report from the bloc's external auditor showed last year that the bloc is lacking the appropriate charging stations. Transportation accounts for about 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU,
In addition to the landmark agreement on cars, the package also features a reform of the EU's carbon market and the creation of a social climate fund to help vulnerable households cope with the planned clean-energy revamp. That issue has become more politically sensitive as Russia's war in Ukraine has sent fuel prices soaring.
The overall goal is to put the EU on track to become climate-neutral in 2050 and to prod other major polluters, including the United States and China, to follow suit.
Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked and apparently stabbed in the neck Friday by a man who rushed the stage as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.
Last month was the Earth’s sixth-warmest July on record in 143 years, according to the U.S. federal agency that studies oceans, the atmosphere, and coastal areas.
While problem gambling affects a minority of the Canadian population, more than 300,000 are at “severe” or “moderate risk” for gambling-related problems, according to a Statistics Canada study of gambling behaviour.
The night before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests, the prime minister’s national security adviser told him there was 'a potential for a breakthrough' in Ottawa, court documents show.
A Quebec Superior Court judge has temporarily suspended two articles of the province's new language law, saying they could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice through the courts.
The City of Toronto is investigating a power outage that left a large swath of the downtown core including office buildings, a major mall and a university campus without electricity yesterday.
The World Health Organization says it's holding an open forum to rename the disease monkeypox, after some critics raised concerns the name could be derogatory or have racist connotations.
A federal judge was to decide as soon as Friday whether to grant the Department of Justice's request to unseal the warrant that authorized the FBI to search former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida estate. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was 'substantial public interest in this matter,' and Trump backed the warrant's 'immediate' release.
A Quebec Superior Court judge has temporarily suspended two articles of the province's new language law, saying they could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice through the courts.
A high-ranking B.C. officer used police resources to conduct at least 92 searches on his ex-girlfriend and her family while stalking her over a period of five years, according to documents exclusively obtained by CTV News.
A plaque commemorating Viola Desmond was revealed Friday by the federal agency at the former Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S., where she was forcibly arrested while watching a movie on Nov. 8, 1946.
Olivier Rioux landed with a size-large exclamation point on Michael Meeks' radar when the Canada Basketball coach opened a photo in his inbox seven years ago.
A federal judge was to decide as soon as Friday whether to grant the Department of Justice's request to unseal the warrant that authorized the FBI to search former U.S. President Donald Trump's Florida estate. Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was 'substantial public interest in this matter,' and Trump backed the warrant's 'immediate' release.
Soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia and Australia joined a live-fire drill on Friday, part of annual joint combat exercises on Sumatra island amid growing Chinese maritime activity in the Indo-Pacific region.
India will miss its renewable energy target for the end of the year, with experts saying "multiple challenges" including a lack of financial help and taxes on imported components are stalling the clean energy industry.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed extending the life of the state's last operating nuclear power plant by at least five to 10 years to maintain reliable power supplies in the climate change era.
The FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate has already sent reverberations across the country, even as new details emerge about what agents were looking for in the investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence.
The night before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests, the prime minister’s national security adviser told him there was 'a potential for a breakthrough' in Ottawa, court documents show.
Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark is endorsing Jean Charest to be the next leader of the federal Conservatives at a time when she says the party is running to the extremes.
The virus that causes polio has been found in New York City's wastewater in another sign that the disease, which hadn't been seen in the U.S. in a decade, is quietly spreading among unvaccinated people, health officials said Friday.
Three community organizations will receive a combined total of $550,000 from the federal government to raise awareness and reduce stigma about monkeypox.
Last month was the Earth’s sixth-warmest July on record in 143 years, according to the U.S. federal agency that studies oceans, the atmosphere, and coastal areas.
Chinese tech giant Huawei said Friday its revenue fell in the first half of 2022 but new ventures in autos and other industries helped to offset a decline in smartphone sales under U.S. sanctions.
Jon Batiste, his career soaring after winning multiple Grammys this year, is leaving his perch as bandleader of 'The Late Show' after a seven-year run backing up host Stephen Colbert.
Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. have signed a definitive agreement with Quebecor Inc. that will see the Montreal-based telecom company acquire wireless carrier Freedom Mobile Inc.
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has launched a compensation program for travellers who missed their flights because of lengthy delays that have plagued the busy European hub for months.
Canadians will soon be able to carry a piece of national music history in their wallets with the launch of a coin commemorating legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.
According to a U.K. study of the dynamics between humans and domesticated cats, the most experienced cat owners often gave more unwanted attention to the animals.
Two years after a pair of former players sued the NFL over the treatment of Black retirees in the league's US$1 billion concussion settlement, hundreds of men whose medical tests were rescored to eliminate race bias now qualify for awards.
Olivier Rioux landed with a size-large exclamation point on Michael Meeks' radar when the Canada Basketball coach opened a photo in his inbox seven years ago.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation has opened a query into seat belt pretensioners on certain 2020-2022 Kia/Hyundai vehicles, saying that they may rupture or explode.
A cleaning service employee who was working at a General Motors plant in Michigan was killed Thursday during an altercation with a co-worker, authorities said.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. dipped to just under the US$4 mark for the first time in more than five months -- good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essentials.
Rice farmer Giovanni Daghetta stands on a dried rice field in Mortara, Italy, on June 27, 2022. (Luca Bruno / AP)
