Emissions possible: EU petrol ban quashed
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.4 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 17 December 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The European Union had promised to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035, as part of its environmental ambitions. Yesterday it watered down that commitment. Our correspondent explains the implications. Will Donald Trump’s choice of Federal Reserve chair politicise the institution? And The Economist announces its word of the year.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.2 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.9 | I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:15.1 | And I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:16.6 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:25.6 | Next year, Donald Trump will pick a new chair of the Federal Reserve. |
| 0:29.6 | The names are already swirling, as is anxiety that the choice may be a political one. |
| 0:37.7 | The weight is over. |
| 0:39.6 | Get your bow ties and fancy hats ready. |
| 0:41.6 | The Capstone Award Show of 2025 is here. |
| 0:45.4 | It's time to anoint the economist's word of the year. First up though, though. |
| 1:03.0 | Europe's Green Deal passed in 2023 was bold. |
| 1:14.6 | Our ambition is crystal clear. |
| 1:17.6 | The future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe. |
| 1:23.6 | Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, underlined the pledge for a healthy planet. |
| 1:29.8 | We stay the course, we stay ambitious, and we stick to our growth strategy. |
| 1:35.8 | A move towards electric cars was at the centre of that strategy. |
| 1:39.9 | Yesterday, the ambitious policy hit a roadblock. |
| 1:43.7 | The EU had promised to ban selling new diesel and |
| 1:46.6 | petrol vehicles from 2035. Now, it's put the brakes on that plan. It's been a difficult |
| 1:53.2 | few years for the European auto industry. And one of the things that they've been pushing hard for |
| 1:58.0 | is a watering down of the EU's plan to ban petrol cars. |
... |
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