Crossing between marching rhythm and swing: German popular music during the Nazi regime

New research project undertaken by the departments of Musicology and History of Mainz University examines the media, networks, key figures, and content of light music in the Third Reich

Grant and Award Announcement

JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITAET MAINZ

Radio and sound film helped music to spread widely during the Weimar Republic, and the enthusiasm for the new media and for new sounds continued unabated even after the Nazi seizure of power. Although the Nazis did not pursue a well-defined musical policy as such, popular music played an important role as a means of communication during their reign. Under Joseph Goebbels, who oversaw all cultural activities, the industry enjoyed more freedom than other artistic media.

"However, the overall situation was quite complicated," emphasized Professor Peter Niedermüller of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). The musicologist is heading up the research project entitled "Deutsche Unterhaltungsmusik im 20. Jahrhundert" ("German popular music in the 20th century"). In cooperation with the JGU Department of History, the project will investigate the music scene during the Nazi period, i.e., from the end of the Weimar Republic to 1945. The new research group is highly interdisciplinary, and in particular benefits from close links between the fields of musicology and contemporary history at JGU. The project is being funded by the GEMA Foundation and the Franz Grothe Foundation.

Exploring the actions of individuals in the face of political repression

On the one hand, the research project will look at the question of political influence and repression by Nazi leaders. On the other hand, Niedermüller also regards the actions of the individual against this political background as an important theme. The research team will trace the lives of musicians in the Nazi state, such as Franz Grothe, composer and conductor of the German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra. "The situation became more and more difficult for foreign and Jewish musicians from 1933 onwards. German artists, however, tried to maintain the musical direction which had made them successful during the Weimar Republic, a direction which had often borrowed from jazz and swing," said Niedermüller. "There are considerable variations between the biographies and so we have to look at the concrete actions of individual persons."

Popular music was meant to suggest normal everyday life

Another topic of investigation deals with the embedding of popular music in cinema and the function it exercised there. Musical analyses take a closer look at the role of marching rhythms in contrast to elements taken from swing and jazz. "Hollywood was the exemplar for Goebbels," said Niedermüller. "We see revue and operetta music merging with jazz elements and folk music in German popular music of the time." Evidently, the need for a strong entertainment culture was considered important, not only because society demanded it, but also as a way of suggesting a sense of normal everyday life.

 

Related links:
https://unterhaltungsmusik.uni-mainz.de/das-forschungsprojekt/ – Research project "Deutsche Unterhaltungsmusik im 20. Jahrhundert" ("German popular music in the 20th century") [in German]

Fires in cargo ship off B.C. coast may take days to put out: coast guard

VICTORIA — It may be several days before fires can be put out inside containers on a cargo ship anchored off Victoria, Canada's coast guard says.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Meanwhile, about 40 containers that fell off the ship have been tracked to the northern tip of Vancouver Island about 440 kilometres away.

Paul Barrett, the planning section chief for the coast guard's unified command, said there are at least five fires burning inside containers that are believed to be storing tires on the MV Zim Kingston.

"The firefighting crews are deploying individual tactics to fight these fires," he said. "It's currently estimated that two to three days are required to make the vessel ready for further salvage actions."

Danaos Shipping Co., the ship's owner, said in a statement Tuesday it is co-operating with Canadian officials and has contracted a firefighting company to help fight the fires.

The company said the trouble began when two containers on the ship caught fire, while another 40 fell into the water as it approached Vancouver, before it anchored for repairs in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The containers have been tracked moving northward along the west coast of Vancouver Island and the coast guard said some have been spotted off Cape Scott on the northern tip of the island.

Juan Jose Alava, the principal investigator with the University of British Columbia's Ocean Pollution Research Unit, said Canadian officials need to be more proactive in tracking those missing containers.

"We should be more ready to find these containers," he said in an interview from Ecuador.

Alava said it is important for officials to determine what exactly is in the containers to inform Indigenous and other communities in northern Vancouver Island that rely on fishing in areas that could be impacted by toxic materials in the containers.

Gillian Oliver, the coast guard's advanced planning unit leader, said tracking buoys have been deployed in an effort to better trace the whereabouts of the missing containers.

She said some of the containers are expected to come ashore and asked any residents who may find one to report it to authorities.

Oliver did not provide details on what is in the containers, besides saying there were potentially toxic materials inside.

"We are still waiting for (the owners) to compile a list of the containers that went overboard and what is inside," she said.

The containers are believed to be low in the water, and officials says large ships may hit them with a passing blow and not realize.

J.J. Brickett, the coast guard's federal incident commander, said the vessel is able to operate but crews are taking a measured approach in ensuring the fires have been put out before it is moved.

Danaos Shipping's statement said it has permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to allow technical experts and two marine firefighters on board the ship.

Barrett said there are 20 people aboard comprising a mix of crew and firefighters.

The coast guard says it is monitoring air quality along Victoria's waterfront and has not recorded any unusual or dangerous changes caused by the fire.

Beckett said he wouldn't speculate on the situation leading up to the containers falling off the ship, but added that the weather conditions were considered normal for a boat to be operating in.

- By Nick Wells in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2021.

The Canadian Press

New defence minister vows to fight sex misconduct, warns battle 'going to take time'

PURGE, PUT WOMEN OFFICERS IN CHARGE,FLATTEN DND

© Provided by The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Anita Anand vowed to throw everything she has into eliminating sexual misconduct in the military as the former procurement minister who successfully obtained COVID-19 vaccines for Canada became only the second woman to hold office as the country's defence minister.

Yet Anand also warned that the fight will take time, even as the Liberal government faced fresh calls from opposition parties and others to finally establish more external and independent oversight of the Canadian Armed Forces to address its many problems.

“It is important to remember that there is no one magic solution for this issue. There is no one switch that we can turn on to change everything overnight,” Anand said in her first public remarks following an elaborate swearing-in ceremony for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet.

“This is going to take time. And while that may frustrate some, I want to assure everyone that I will put in the necessary work for as long as it takes to get this done. As I have said, I am thorough, I am determined, I am dogged, and I am results-oriented. And I will be dedicating all of my energies towards this task in this position.”

Anand’s appointment ended weeks of speculation around who would take over from Harjit Sajjan, whose fate appeared all but sealed after overseeing a crisis of confidence in Canada’s military leadership over the past eight months sparked by allegations against several senior officers.

Trudeau spoke glowingly of his new defence minister, specifically noting Anand’s role leading Ottawa’s efforts to purchase vaccines and other supplies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic while touting her previous experience as an expert on corporate governance as directly relevant to her new role.

“One of the things people will be learning about Anita Anand in the coming months is that she is a world-class expert in governance, with decades of professional experience that she will bring to bear to make sure the Canadian Armed Forces … are worthy of the extraordinary women and men who choose to serve.”

Anand is only the second woman to serve as Canada's defence minister. Kim Campbell held the position for six months in 1993 before becoming prime minister.

Yet while Anand acknowledged her gender may have played a factor in her appointment, she said there are other qualities that she brings to the table.

Indeed, while Anand’s appointment was largely welcomed by opposition parties, experts and a victims’ group, many of which had been scathing in their criticism of Sajjan, it was also greeted with warnings that the arrival of a new defence minister — even a woman — isn’t enough to fix the military’s problems.

“I'm not one of those people that think just putting a woman into this position will magically make it solve the problems,” said Megan MacKenzie, an expert on military sexual misconduct at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

“She's stepping into that role at a time when we've had a prolonged crisis. And so I really hope she's supported so that she can do her job and is not expected to sort of fix the systemic problem without proper tools.”

MacKenzie also underscored the need for more independent oversight over the military, particularly when it comes to sexual misconduct, as was first recommended by retired Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps in 2015.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh echoed that message during a news conference, saying that while having a woman as defence minister was remarkable, “they've had six years to bring in an independent process. And so that hasn't changed. And that to me is a big problem.”

Trudeau and Anand declined to commit to any new external oversight of the military, and instead pointed to an ongoing review of the problem being led by retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour.

Anand arrives at a critical time for the Canadian military, which has been battered by months of troubling allegations that some of the military’s most senior officers engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour — with new allegations seemingly emerging every few weeks.

Trudeau this month blasted the top brass after it was revealed that a general who wrote a character reference for a soldier convicted of sexual assault was reassigned to a job overseeing some of the military’s work on sexual misconduct. Trudeau said they "simply don't get it."

Opposition critics, defence experts and victims’ support groups have pinned much of the blame for the ongoing scandal on the Liberal government and, in particular, Sajjan, who will now serve as the minister of both international development and economic development in B.C.

When Sajjan first took over the role in early November 2015, the former Vancouver police officer was widely seen as a positive choice, given his previous service as a lieutenant-colonel in the army reserves, which included stints in Afghanistan.

Yet Sajjan struggled to effectively communicate when it came to military matters, and was seen as being too deferential to those senior commanders such as then-chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance, under whom he had served in Afghanistan.

Those concerns exploded into the public discourse in February after Global News reported several allegations of sexual misconduct involving Vance. It was later revealed that one was first flagged to Sajjan by the military ombudsman in March 2018.

Despite what amounted to a clear demotion for his longtime defence minister, Trudeau defended Sajjan as “someone who has been there to fight for the women and men who serve in our Armed Forces, and to push back against the culture that excludes, that marginalizes people.”

Sajjan for his part defended his record, which included introducing a new defence policy in 2017 that promised billions in new money for the military over 20 years.

As for changing the military’s culture, “we wish that we could have it overnight,” he said. “It doesn't happen overnight. But this but the steady work that needs to continue in the focus on it, our government has been absolutely committed to it.”

One of the key questions facing Anand is the degree to which she will be able to exert control over the Canadian military, which has a reputation for pushing back against attempts to rein it in.

While Anand’s role in procuring personal protective equipment, ventilators and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic has been praised, her work on corporate governance was noted by It’s Not Just 700, a support group for victims.

Sexual misconduct is far from the only issue facing the Armed Forces at this juncture, and the new defence minister will need to get quickly up to speed on a variety of topics, including the many missions underway around the world and the ongoing effort to buy new military equipment.

Anand has an advantage over many of her ministerial colleagues taking over new portfolios, in that her previous job included significant oversight of various military procurement projects. That includes the planned purchase of new fighter jets and warships.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2021.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

Emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault of women is widespread in the military

Attacks are most likely on younger personnel, those with officer status and those in combat roles

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

Women serving in the UK military face a considerable risk of emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault, which can have a serious and long-lasting impact on their mental health and wellbeing, finds research published online in the journal BMJ Military Health. 

There are currently around 16,500 women serving in the UK military and they make up approximately 11% of personnel. Although women have been able to serve in the UK military for many years, it was not until 2018 that all roles were opened up to them, including deployment to front-line combat.

It is recognised that military women may face additional adversities during deployment on top of the risk of exposure to combat-related trauma, which may impact on their well-being, so the authors set out to investigate the prevalence of military adversity in terms of sexual harassment, sexual assault, emotional bullying and physical assault within a sample of UK women veterans.

They surveyed 750 women veterans who had been in touch with a UK charity which supports women veterans, and the responses showed that a high proportion of these women had experienced military adversity: 22.5% said they had experienced sexual harassment, 5.1% sexual assault, 22.7% emotional bullying and 3.3% physical assault. 

These experiences were more likely to be reported by women who were younger, had held the rank of officer, or reported having had a combat or combat support role during their military service.

All types of adversity were significantly associated with probable post-traumatic stress disorder, and different types of adversity had specific impacts on women’s mental health and wellbeing. 

Sexual harassment was significantly associated with physical somatisation (where the mental distress causes physical symptoms such as pain or fatigue), sexual assault was significantly associated with alcohol difficulties, and emotional bullying was significantly associated with common mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression, low social support and loneliness.

This was an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, and the researchers also highlight several limitations. 

The study was based around self-reported events so could underestimate or overestimate the real prevalence of what was experienced, and it was not able to assess the impact of cumulative episodes or continuous military adversity on mental health and well-being. The survey had a response rate of 44.6%, meaning the results may not be fully representative, and the majority of the women who participated were aged above 60, so the findings may not be generalisable to younger army personnel.

Nevertheless, the authors conclude that their study provides evidence of a high prevalence of military adversity among UK women veterans and highlights important relationships with sociodemographic factors and mental health difficulties that require further investigation.

There is an urgent need to provide more support to military women, they say. “Many women do not report adverse service experiences due to fear of the consequences of doing so and may continue to suffer from increased mental health distress during and after military service. It is essential to consider whether current reporting procedures may not provide sufficient confidentiality to encourage women to report adverse experiences and more appropriate disclosing procedures should be considered.

“Furthermore, it is essential to consider whether existing support is adequate to support the mental health needs of women who experienced military adversity.”

As certain characteristics of the military, such as gender discrepancies, the nature of military training and the ranked order structure, may put female personnel at greater risk of victimisation, it is worth considering whether organisational and leadership changes can be made to better protect military women, they add.

[Ends]

---

JOURNAL

BMJ Military Health

DOI

10.1136/bmjmilitary-2021-001948 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Adversity during military service: the impact of military sexual trauma, emotional bullying and physical assault on the mental health and well-being of women veterans

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Oct-2021

Gay couple asked to leave Toronto condo because they’re not married

THAT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST COMMON-LAW IN CANADA

 October 26, 2021  Canuck

TORONTO — A gay couple renting a condo in downtown Toronto say they have been told by the condo’s management they need to get married — or get out of their unit.

The dispute seems to stem from the condo’s interpretation of a rule restricting the occupants to “single families” — apparently designed to keep out short term rentals or disruptive tenants — but has been taken too far, said one of the renters, Michael Cowan.

“How can they define what a family is to someone?” Cowan told CTV News Toronto in an interview. “It doesn’t make sense.”

The dispute has some observers wondering how widely these rules have been applied and how many of Ontario’s two million condo residents they could affect. The province’s opposition NDP is also calling for changes to condo regulators.

Cowan, who is in his thirties, said he moved into the condo at Wellesley and Bay streets in the spring of 2020, loving its central location.

This October, he decided to invite his partner of about six months to live with him. He moved in, signed paperwork with the landlord, but when it came to updating the condo board about who was living in the unit, they suddenly had a problem: the condo was asking for a marriage certificate.

“[Management] said we needed proof of marital status, which we do not have because we’ve only been together for a shorter period of time,” Cowan said. He said since the conversation, the condo has deactivated his partner’s key fob.

That action seems to stem from a condo rule, where Metropolitan Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 972 defines itself as “single family,” which “shall mean a social unit consisting of parent(s) and their children, whether natural or adopted, and includes other relatives if living with the primary group.”

Cowan’s landlord, Seema Opal, also tried to mediate, but she says condo management was firm.

“The requirement for a marriage certificate just blows me away,” Opal said. “Family status shouldn’t be grounds for discrimination. And I feel that living next to the Village, my condo board and property manager are discriminating against individuals who don’t fit into a certain mould.”

It’s not clear exactly why the rule exists — condo management didn’t get back to CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.

Condo lawyer Shawn Pulver, who is not connected to the case, says the root of the rule is likely to find a way to ensure that disruptive tenants or short term rentals aren’t allowed.

He says the backlash against some short-term rentals could mean that there are many similar rules affecting more than two million people who live in Ontario condos.

“Condos are concerned that there are people in units that shouldn’t be there. It doesn’t mean the concerns are well founded or that they are not subject to challenge,” Pulver said.

NDP MPP Jessica Bell said disputes like this should be fielded by the Condo Appeal Tribunal, but it doesn’t have the jurisdiction, leaving residents heading to court — or simply giving up.

Bell, who held a round table on condo issues earlier this week with other NDP MPPs, said she heard many residents complain about issues in their condominiums that aren’t being addressed in the current regulations.

She said she hoped that hearings slated to start this week to review findings by Ontario’s Auditor-General of weaknesses in condo oversight may also help address the problem.

“It’s ridiculous that people in 2021 have to prove that they’re married,” Bell said. “There should be a way for a resident to seek recourse, and appeal to a regulator to change the rules.”

Another option, said Opal, may be to just widen the definition of the rule to include couples like her renters.

“They could expand the definition to include two people in a loving relationship,” Opal said.

IN CANADA COMMON LAW IS RECOGNIZED BY PROVINCIAL GOVTS. AND THE FEDS AND IS A TAXABLE RELATIONSHIP UNDER CANADA REVENUE ACT.

 

Low grain yields in Alberta mean high grain prices will continue

 October 26, 2021 

The combines are now parked, and fall field work is underway.

Geoff Backman with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission said it was a tough year for many farmers who were plagued with drought conditions.

“They’re really hoping for rain next year because two years of this would be financially devastating,” said Backman.

The crops are now in the bin, and the numbers show yields are significantly down.

“For the most part, we are hearing that, regionally, yields are between 75 to 50 per cent of what they experienced last year and that just isn’t the amount of grain that we are used to having,” added Backman.

Read more: Drought shrivels Canada’s wheat crop to 14-year low, canola to 9-year low

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The provincial five-year yield index shows this year is 37 per cent below the five-year averages. Demand is up and so are prices. This time last year, feed barley in southern Alberta was $5.50 a bushel; it is now nearly $9 a bushel.

“These are the highest prices I have seen, but it’s not just me. I’m young compared to some of the farmers and some of our members, and they are reporting that these are some of the highest prices they have ever seen in their careers as well,” added Backman.

Read more: An increase in the price of craft beer is brewing in Alberta

The high grain prices directly impact the cattle industry, specifically feeder cattle.

“It takes a big bite out of calf prices, so if we are talking $4 barley versus $8 barley, roughly for every dollar increase in the price of barley, you take about 20 cents off the price of calves,” said Brian Perillat, manager and senior analyst for Canfax.

Read more: Alberta farmers see cost of fertilizer jump as grain prices rise

Perillat said many cattle producers can’t find the grain they need in Canada and are relying on feed from south of the border.

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“We’ll be importing a significant amount of corn. It should start flowing into the southern Prairies or into Alberta into November and that is going to be the biggest feed source,” he added.

Backman said the grain shortage is worldwide.

According to Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, wheat and barley have dropped from an estimated world supply of 12 million metric tonnes to eight million tonnes this year.

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

View original article here Source

SOUTHERN Albertans support bid to change equalization, 

ALL ALBERTANS narrowly turn down year-round daylight time

 October 26, 2021  Canuck News/Canada/Edmonton

Most Albertans who voted in last week’s municipal elections want Canada to remove the equalization section from the Constitution, but support for reverting to year-round daylight saving time was almost evenly split among voters — with those voting against narrowly coming out on top.

Elections Alberta reported nearly 62 per cent of voters said “yes” to the equalization question, while just over 38 per cent checked “no.” 

The question asked whether voters support removing a clause from the Constitution that commits the federal government to redistributing taxes paid by all Canadians to ensure that all citizens, regardless of the province in which they live, have equitable access to public services.

The different political cultures of Alberta’s two largest cities were reflected in the results. In Edmonton, 51.9 per cent were against and 48.1 per cent were in favour, while Calgary showed much stronger support for the idea — 58.2 per cent voted yes while 41.8 said no.

On the daylight saving time question, 50.2 per cent of Albertans who voted said they were opposed to moving to permanent daylight time while 49.8 per cent said they were in favour. 

Demanding respect, Kenney says

At a news conference Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney said the equalization result sent a “powerful” statement to the federal government. 

“Albertans are demanding to be respected,” Kenney said. “They’re demanding that the jurisdiction of this province under the Canadian Constitution be respected … and we fully expect the prime minister to respect the constitutional amendment process and to sit down and negotiate with Alberta in good faith.”

The equalization vote was a part of the UCP’s platform in the 2019 provincial election, with Kenney stating that that Alberta has concerns over billions of dollars its residents pay, while provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec obstruct oil and pipeline projects that underpin Alberta’s wealth.

The constitution can’t be changed without the consent of two-thirds of the provinces with at least 50 per cent of the population of all of them combined. 

Later in the legislative assembly, government House leader Jason Nixon gave oral notice of a motion to ratify the referendum results. Nixon expected the motion will be debated on Wednesday. 

As for the DST result, the province will respect the results and not proceed with a time change. 

WATCH: Equalization victory or flawed process?

Kenney claims equalization victory as Notley cites flawed process

2 hours ago

Premier Jason Kenney is promising to kick-start the equalization amendment process following Alberta’s referendum vote in favour of removing the payments – but Opposition Leader Rachel Notley says the province could have sent a stronger message to Ottawa with a little forethought. 2:42

HOW MANY SPOILED BALLOTS?!

Voters asked to choose three senators-in-waiting

In addition to questions about equalization and clocks, voters were also asked to choose three senators-in-waiting for Alberta. 

Out of 13 candidates, three Conservative Party of Canada candidates received the most votes: Pam Davidson (18.2 per cent), Erika Barootes (17.1 per cent) and Mykhailo Martyniouk (11.3 per cent). 

WASTE OF MONEY BY A PARTY THAT BITCHES ABOUT THAT

Canadians do not elect Senators. The prime minister chooses candidates from a list of people who apply for the position.

When the NDP became the government in Alberta, senate elections were dropped. However Premier Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party brought them back when they took office in 2019. 

Lack of clarity, says Notley

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Kenney “botched” the process by posing questions that weren’t clear.

She said the majority of Albertans would have supported the time change question if was about whether people wanted to stop changing their clocks twice a year, instead of specifically asking to stay on daylight saving time year-round. 

As for the equalization question, Notley said the result was not as definitive as it should be. 

Elections Alberta did not provide official turnout numbers as the vote was part of the provincewide municipal and school trustee elections on Oct. 18. 

Estimates put the figure at around 39 per cent of voters. There were no polling stations in First Nations communities.

“It was a mess all along,” Notley said.  “It doesn’t meet any of the criteria that have been set out in the courts that the premier tries to rely on.”

A constitutional law scholar from the University of Alberta said the result will do little to convince other provinces to join Alberta in pushing Ottawa to open up the constitution. 

Law professor Eric Adams said the prime minister has a duty to listen to what Alberta or any other province has to say, either in a letter, a face-to-face meeting or a first ministers’ meeting. But he can also decide not to go ahead. 

Adams said Alberta would have to turn to other provinces for support, which could itself create a new set of problems. 

“The ball is in the court of the other premiers. Is anybody willing to grab hold of of this policy? Does the government of Alberta have other provinces lined up that want to support this change?” Adams asked. 

“In my view, the most likely outcome here is is that this doesn’t head anywhere or it gets rather tangled up in a number of other constitutional proposals that the Alberta government doesn’t have any control over. 

View original article here Source

Analysis-Doomed to fail? How carmakers' climate vows fall short - and who's to blame

By Victoria Waldersee

© Reuters/Toby Melville FILE PHOTO: 

A man runs past a BP (British Petroleum) EV (Electric Vehicle) charge point in London

BERLIN (Reuters) - Car and truck makers from Volkswagen to Nissan and Ford have embraced the narrative that reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement should be a key tenet of their business agenda.

Are they doing enough? Research shows their goals are still a far cry from what is needed, but the jury is out on whether automakers alone are responsible for the shortfall.

While some say carmakers should plan to make their fleets carbon-neutral whatever the circumstances, companies argue that their ability to transition to electric vehicles (EV) is dependent on conditions outside their direct control.

Consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group said in a report released last week that at least 90% of new passenger vehicles and 70% of trucks must be electric by 2030 in order to meet climate targets, echoing environmental groups like Greenpeace.

But among major auto brands, very few - among them Geely's Volvo and VW's Bentley - have set goals for 100% EV production by then, with most arguing that they cannot take full accountability for a transition to electric vehicles without the market conditions to remain profitable in the process.

German luxury carmaker Daimler, for example, has refrained from stating it will produce only electric vehicles by 2030 no matter what - instead it has emphasised it will be "ready to go all electric ... where market conditions allow."

"We will lead from the front. Is it realistic to turn 100% of the market by 2030? It would be a stretch," Daimler's CEO Ola Kaellenius told Reuters in an interview, adding he hoped to see countries and economic regions do their bit at the COP26 summit by synchronising their plans for electric vehicle rollouts.

Charging infrastructure is just one of many challenges standing between the auto industry, estimated by the International Energy Agency to be responsible for around 18% of all carbon emissions worldwide, and climate neutrality.

Others include getting rid of dirty fossil-fuel powered cars still on the roads, reducing emissions in battery production, and building storage systems for renewable energy to ensure the electricity used to charge electric cars is from renewable sources.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?

Under carbon reduction policies already agreed by governments and automakers, global CO2 emissions from vehicles are still set to rise over time, research by the International Council on Clean Transportation shows.

If policies under discussion are implemented, the growth trajectory stabilises but still does not fall, it said, highlighting growing demand for cars, buses and trucks in coming years due to population growth and increased economic activity in emerging markets.

While one in five vehicles sold in Europe last quarter were electrified, the share is much lower in the United States at around 2%. EVs are an even tinier slice of sales in less rich markets such as Latin America or Southeast Asia.

Automakers and governments must also find answers for labour unions who are worried that a rapid shift to EVs will put thousands of workers out of their jobs.

This includes German unions demanding clarity from Stellantis on its plans for Opel plants, and U.S. President Joe Biden facing pressure from the U.S. United Auto Workers' union to provide more state support during the EV transition.

"There are a lot of factors involved ... we try to project a realistic picture," a spokesperson for Germany's BMW said. "But if certain conditions change fundamentally, we will of course have to re-examine our climate goals."

CARBON EMITTER

The majority of a vehicle's emissions do not come from the manufacturing process, but from the fuel used to power it - be it electricity, petrol, or diesel.

In the case of electric vehicles, the process of making batteries is also a significant carbon emitter, with a Volkswagen ID.3 for example generating nearly twice the emissions of a diesel equivalent in the production phase, according to company calculations.

While carmakers are increasingly investing in producing batteries in a more environmentally friendly way, controlling the source of energy flowing into electric cars is much harder.

Automakers like VW and Tesla are growing their offering of residential storage systems for clients to power vehicles through mechanisms like solar panels on their roofs – but the question of who is responsible for sourcing and distributing energy in public spaces is more contentious.

Even if automakers invest in public charging stations, ongoing problems with storage of renewable energy could force energy providers to rely on coal and natural gas to meet short-term demand, as recent volatility in energy markets has shown.

Lobby groups such as the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association and the U.S.-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation have urged states to invest in renewable-based charging infrastructure, from public-private investments to fully state-funded projects.

But some environmental groups argue that relying on taxpayer funds is unfair as the networks would disproportionately benefit car companies and owners, as opposed to spending on public transport.

Another lingering problem is the diesel and gas cars still driving on roads beyond 2030, which will bump up the industry's emissions well beyond the limit necessary to stay within the Paris Agreements' bounds, researchers have said.

Even if half of all new cars sold in 2035 were zero emission – which climate goals set by BMW, General Motors and Nissan would account for – some 70% of vehicles on roads would still be burning fossil fuels, Boston Consulting has said.

"Even economies in the vanguard of the climate-change fight are therefore likely to fall short of decarbonisation targets."

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Additional reporting by Joe White in Detroit and Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Editing by David Holmes)