CLIMATEEUROPE EU: Commission aims to slash truck, bus emissions by 90% 7 hours ago7 hours ago The European Commission has proposed a drop of 90% in emissions in heavy vehicles by 2040 as compared to 2019. From 2030, new city buses should be zero-emission vehicles. https://p.dw.com/p/4NUAK The EU’s executive body, the European Commission, aims to slash emissions for heavy-duty vehicles by 90% by 2040 as compared to 2019 in a new proposal announced Tuesday. The Commission also proposed mandating that new city buses from 2030 be emissions-free vehicles. The proposal came the same day as lawmakers in the European Parliament passed a new law banning sales of fossil fuel vehicles in the bloc after 2035. How will the EU meet its goal? Frans Timmermans, the EU’s Climate Commissioner, said “all parts of the transport sector have to actively contribute” towards reaching the bloc’s climate goals. “In 2050, nearly all of the vehicles on our roads have to be zero emission, our climate law requires it,” he said while presenting the plans in Strasbourg. By 2050, the 27-nation bloc aspires to be fully climate neutral. Zero emissions: Opel Vivaro-e Hydrogen 09:02 The EU has interim targets set to stay on track to meet its climate goals. By 2030, the European Commission wants heavy vehicles to emit 45% less greenhouse gases compared to 2019. By 2035, this number should decrease by 65% until the target 90% is achieved in 2040. The proposal will now be subjected to scrutiny by EU member states and the European Parliament. How has the car industry reacted? The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association called for a plan to plug in more charging stations and expand hydrogen filling stations on the continent among the 27 nations that form the bloc. As a technical matter, the industry group said that if the target of a reduction of 45% by 2030 is to be met, 400,000 zero-emission trucks would have to be operational, and a minimum 100,000 new zero-emissions trucks would have to be registered each year. Are fossil fuels energy-efficient? 02:56 The association further quantified the practical measures that would need to come into place. More than 50,000 publicly accessible chargers for trucks would need to be installed in the next seven years, with 35,000 of them being high-performance charging systems. An additional 700 hydrogen refilling stations would also be needed. What do critics of the plan say? Opponents of the EU’s plans have suggested neither consumers nor industry is prepared to make the change from the combustible engine to electric vehicles so fast. Tens of thousands of jobs are also at risk. Jens Gieseke, a member of parliament in the center-right European People’s Party, said, “Let the market decide what technology is best to reach our goals.” ar/rs (AFP, dpa)

CULTUREGERMANY
German ballet director apologizes for poo attack on critic
9 hours ago9 hours ago
Choreographer Marco Goecke issued his apology three days after the incident, which occurred in the foyer of Hanover’s opera house. Attacking the journalist with dog feces was “an overreaction,” he said.

https://p.dw.com/p/4NTuu
A suspended ballet director at the Hanover State Opera apologized publicly on Tuesday for smearing dog feces on the face of a newspaper critic during a premiere last Saturday.

At the premiere of his ballet, “Faith – Love – Hope,” Marco Goecke argued with Wiebke Hüster of the paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung before reaching into a bag and smearing her face with dog poo.

He had previously accused her of writing “nasty, personal” reviews of his work.

What did Goecke say in his apology?
In a written statement Goecke published Tuesday, the choreographer said he was sorry for lashing out at the journalist.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to all those involved, first and foremost to Ms. Hüster, for my action, which I absolutely do not condone,” he said.

“In retrospect, I clearly realize that this was a shameful act in the heat of the moment and an overreaction,” Goecke added.

What happens next?
Goecke’s apology comes one day after he was suspended as director and banned from the premises of the Hanover State Opera due to the reputational damage his actions had inflicted on the institution, as well as for the safety and security of those employed there.

Belit Onay, the mayor of Hanover, welcomed Goecke’s suspension on Tuesday.

“I deeply regret that there was an attack on a journalist in the State Opera on Saturday. Attacks on freedom of the press and physical wellbeing have no place in Hanover. I therefore welcome the suspension of the person responsible,” Onay wrote.

The mayor added that he reached out to the dance critic “to express his regrets on behalf of the residents of Hanover.”

The Hanover State Opera called on Goecke to explain himself in the coming days, at which point management would determine next steps.

Police in the northern German state of Lower Saxony have opened a case for simple assault and insult.

Goecke is internationally known and has received awards including the German Dance Prize in 2022.

Stylistically, he is noted for his trademark sunglasses and toting around his dachshund “Gustav” in a small carrier at the opera house.

ar/rs (dpa,epd)

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