- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
German govt loses key climate court case
The German government on Thursday lost a key climate case brought by environmental groups, in an embarrassing slap down the day before Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to travel to the COP28 climate summit.
A Berlin court ordered the government to adopt an "immediate action programme" after failing to meet its own climate goals in the transport and building sectors.
The case brought by the Deutsche Umwelthilfe and BUND environmentalist groups had accused the government of not doing enough to get back on track after missing emissions targets for transport and building in 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, the transport sector overshot its CO2 emissions target by 3.1 million tonnes, according to BUND. In the building sector, the equivalent figure was 2.5 million tonnes.
Officials presented a roadmap to reduce emissions in the two sectors in July 2022, but the government "failed to take a decision on these programmes", the court said in a statement.
The government then adopted a Climate Action Programme in October 2023, but this package of measures "does not meet the requirements for an immediate action programme", it said.
The ruling piles further pressure on Scholz's coalition government which is already struggling with how to honour its climate pledges after being plunged into a budget crisis earlier this month.
On November 15, Germany's Constitutional Court ruled that the government had acted illegally when it transferred 60 billion euros ($65 billion) of unused borrowing capacity from a pot aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic to a "climate and transformation fund".
The immediate impact of the ruling was to wipe the 60 billion euros from the climate fund, which had been worth 212 billion euros.
- 'Embarrassing and damaging' -
Stefanie Langkamp, a spokeswoman for the Climate Alliance Germany network, said Thursday's verdict was a "severe reprimand" for the government.
"It is internationally embarrassing and damaging that a court judgement is needed because the German government is not complying" with its own climate laws, she said.
Antje von Broock, a spokeswoman for the BUND group, said it was "relieved" about the ruling.
"The court has made it crystal clear that the federal government must meet its climate targets," she said.
"The government must now draw up, present and adopt immediate programmes that are binding, in particular in the areas of transport and construction."
Environmental groups have brought several cases to courts in Germany to force the government to take more action to fight climate change.
In the most ground-breaking case, Germany's constitutional court ruled in 2021 that the government's climate plans were insufficient and placed an unfair burden on future generations.
In response, the government led by then-chancellor Angela Merkel tightened the timeline of plans to slash emissions and brought forward its goal of becoming carbon neutral by five years to 2045.
Germany missed its total CO2-reduction goal in 2022 by around five million tonnes, according to the energy think tank Agora Energiewende.
H.Silva--PC