BBC (September 17)
“Nine out of 10 new cars sold in Norway are electric vehicles” and the country “now has more electric cars on its roads than petrol-driven vehicles.” Ironically, the money from being one of the world’s largest oil exporters is making this possible, with things like “free parking for EVs,” no city tolls, and “numerous free chargers in every Norwegian town and city, with 2,000 of them in Oslo alone,” largely underwritten by petrodollars.
Tags: Cars, City tolls, EVs, Free chargers, Free parking, Norway, Oil exporter, Oslo, Petrodollars, Petrol
The Guardian (September 28)
“Queues at the petrol pumps are never a good look for a government. They are especially bad in a pandemic, when so many people already have reason to feel anxious.” Panic buying comes natural after “gas price rises that have led to around 2m households losing their energy supplier” and “empty shelves in supermarkets…. There is a palpable sense that Britain is careering from one crisis to another.”
Tags: Anxious, Careening, Crisis, Empty shelves, Energy, Gas, Government, Households, Pandemic, Petrol, Prices, Queues, Rises, Supermarkets
BBC (January 2)
“France’s transport strike against pension reform has entered its 29th day, making it the longest rail workers’ strike since May 1968.” Even though a majority of the French population supports President Macron’s pension reforms, plans call for additional disruption. “Union leaders have called for a day of mass protests on 9 January. A new blockade of petrol facilities, including refineries, petrol terminals and depots, is also planned on 7 January for 96 hours until 10 January.”
Tags: Blockade, Disruption, France, Macron, Pension reform, Petrol, Protests, Rail workers, Refineries, Strike, Transport
