Europe
News and information from Europe πͺπΊ
(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)
Rules (2024-08-30)
- This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
- No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
- Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
- No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, islamophobia, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism. We follow German law; don't question the statehood of Israel.
- Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
- If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
- Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in other communities.
- Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
- No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)
- Always provide context with posts: Don't post uncontextualized images or videos, and don't start discussions without giving some context first.
(This list may get expanded as necessary.)
Posts that link to the following sources will be removed
- on any topic: Al Mayadeen, brusselssignal:eu, citjourno:com, europesays:com, Breitbart, Daily Caller, Fox, GB News, geo-trends:eu, news-pravda:com, OAN, RT, sociable:co, any AI slop sites (when in doubt please look for a credible imprint/about page), change:org (for privacy reasons), archive:is,ph,today (their JS DDoS websites)
- on Middle-East topics: Al Jazeera
- on Hungary: Euronews
Unless they're the only sources, please also avoid The Sun, Daily Mail, any "thinktank" type organization, and non-Lemmy social media (incl. Substack). Don't link to Twitter directly, instead use xcancel.com. For Reddit, use old:reddit:com
(Lists may get expanded as necessary.)
Ban lengths, etc.
We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.
If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 7 or 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.
If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the admin that applied the rule (check modlog first to find who was it.)
Uh, aren't fines supposed to be punitive? If it's not punitive it's just a fee
Just call them "finacial incentive" instead of fees.
They are in fact just financial incentives and in that regard well understood with companies long prepared to work within that system. Everything else is just the usual loud PR bullshit for morons.
See: this German article from about a week ago for example...
The fleet limit was the product of successful lobbying: instead of looking at each vehicle model separately, the CO2 consumption was calculated using arbitrarily determined average values, as it was clear from the outset that the respective vehicle models that were most popular with customers would not be able to comply with the CO2 limit.
For years, it was therefore possible to register vehicles that individually exceeded the limit values by a wide margin, but because the small car (which could just as easily comply with the specified limit values due to its weak engine) could then be offset in the vehicle fleet, the bottom line was that it worked out.
Things got even better for car manufacturers when electric hybrid vehicles were added: The electric car is by definition CO2-neutral (i.e. emits no CO2), and when offset against the combustion portion of such a hybrid vehicle, the result is very low CO2 emissions, thus improving the calculation for the fleet consumption and limit.
In addition, these plug-in hybrids have been subsidized, even though they do not have a decent range. Basically, a fully-fledged combustion engine has been subsidized.
These types of plug-in hybrids have a downright ridiculous range of 50 km and were only introduced in order to calculate the fleet consumption so that the vehicles that have sold best so far (because they are overpowered) can continue to be produced and registered.
If the aim was really to reduce CO2 emissions, then this fleet limit - and therefore also the fleet consumption - should not have been introduced in the first place. The CO2 emissions of each individual model should have been adjusted individually. This would have revealed much earlier that the vehicle manufacturers were not really willing to work on this.
All true, which adds to my actual point. There is exactly no problem with the fleet limits on the manufacturer's side as they indeed were influental in introducing those instead of actual emission restrictions. Those are financial incentives with a (rather minimal) impact.
And yet -because we live in that absurd non-factual reality only based on feeding bullshit to the moronic masses now- those far too restrictive and punitive fines are killing the industry if we don't get rid of them... bla... bla... bla... If you only whine enough they will find some more public money and get rid of some more regulation to maximise profits and dividends at the expense of people and the enviropnment.
And even more sadly that's the talk of the unpopular more pro-climate side in government right now... far more than an absolute majoritiy are actually voting for morons hallucinating about how combustion engines, gas heating, coal and magically appearing nuclear power will save us from the EV, electrification and renewable insanity.
Well congrats Olaf, you just made yourself even more unelectable.
About time this fucking clown is removed from all political positions. He's been spewing shit from day one.
Unfortunately, the most likely replacement is even worse.
Can we please please please have Habeck? I don't want Mr. Burns :(
Hahahahahhaahhahhaa no.
Best regards, average German voter
the average German vote is Christian Lindner in disguise :O
Yes, he's only talking bullshit.
Because that's exactly the stuff moronic voters want to hear. And it's the reason the even bigger bullshitters praising how only combustion engines, burning coal, obsolete economic ideas and social policies from 50 to 100 years ago can save us from total destruction will win the next election. Just like the retarted, corrupt and fossil fuel addict conservatives are on the rise everywhere... unless there is an even more backwards far-right of course.
Punitive fines means they can pay themselves out of abiding by the legal limit. This should not be acceptable. Shut down all the cars that are not within legal limits and have the car companies recompense the customers they already sold them to.
The longer we keep these unreformable dinosaurs alive artificially, the more damage it will do to the european economy, environment and people, when they finally fall.