Carbon Emissions

The Trump administration's repealing of an Obama-era scientific finding that found greenhouse gases posed a threat to public health could open a new path for filing lawsuits. Legal experts say that reversing policy could lead to an increase in "public nuisance" lawsuits, which were previously blocked by a Supreme Court decision in 2011 that said that the Environmental Protection Agency should regulate greenhouse gas emissions instead of courts. Legal experts say that now that the EPA is abandoning this regulatory effort, it's likely that the legal shield created in 2011 will unravel. Robert Percival is a professor of environmental law...

Nuclearelectrica, a state-owned Romanian nuclear power company, announced on Thursday that it had made a decision to invest in a small modular plant. This could be the first project in Europe using this technology. The project in central Romania, Doicesti, is to have six reactors with a capacity total of 460MW. It will be using technology from the U.S. NuScale Power. Romanian Nuclearelectrica holds a 50% stake in the joint-venture. The first reactor is the final investment decision, and the other five are dependent on the success of the technology. The original deadline of 2029 for the finalization of the...

On Thursday, the administration of Donald Trump plans to announce "the repeal" of a scientific conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human sanity. This will remove the legal basis of federal climate regulations. This is the biggest climate change policy rollback the administration has ever made. It follows a series of regulatory reductions and other actions designed to reduce the restrictions on fossil fuel development, and to stymie clean energy deployment. Trump believes that climate change is a hoax and has pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement. This leaves the United States, the largest contributor historically to...

Shareholder advocates and portfolio managers claim that the Trump administration's decision, to reverse an Obama-era legal analysis, which underpinned greenhouse gas regulations will cause confusion and increase costs for both businesses and investors. Donald Trump, the U.S. president who has called climate changes a "hoax," intends to formally rescind on Thursday 2009 scientific findings which?linked carbon dioxide to harmful health effects - data that have?guided standards of pollution for over 15 years. This is the most significant 'climate change' policy rollback by the Republican administration. It follows a series of regulatory reductions and other measures intended to free up fossil...

The Trump administration's impending repeal of an Obama-era finding that greenhouse gasses pose a threat to public health could lead to a new avenue for filing suits against power-plant operators, among other companies. Legal experts warned that the policy reversal could lead to an increase in "public nuisance" lawsuits, which were previously blocked by the Supreme Court's 2011 ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency should regulate greenhouse gas emissions instead of courts. Legal experts say that now that the EPA has abandoned this regulatory effort, it is likely that the legal shield created in 2011 will unravel. Robert Percival is...

The White House announced on Tuesday that U.S. president Donald Trump plans to formalize a move on Thursday to overturn the legal basis of federal greenhouse gas regulations from the Obama era, which will result in 'the repeal of vehicle emission?rules. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, told reporters that Trump would be joined by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin at an event to formalize the revocation of President Barack Obama's 2009 scientific findings that carbon dioxide was harmful to human health. She claimed that the action was the largest deregulation in U.S. History and estimated it would save...

Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, announced on Wednesday that his government would scrap a national mandate for electric vehicle sales and instead increase incentives to encourage EV purchase and charging. Carney announced that Canada would provide C$2.3billion ($1.68billion) in incentives up to C$5,000 for individuals or businesses who purchase or lease EVs. C$1.5billion will also be allocated to EV charging. Canada will also give up to C$3.1billion to Canada's auto manufacturing sector to assist it in making the expensive transition to electric vehicles. He said that the recently announced partnership with China would "drive new Chinese joint venture investments...

A U.S. Federal Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Energy violated the law by forming a climate science advisory group. This could put its upcoming final proposal to?repeal an important climate regulation in danger. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued a judgement that the Trump administration's creation of a Climate Working Group comprised of five climate skeptics violates the law?that governs the way federal advisory committees operate. Key Context Last year, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy for convening a working...

A U.S. Federal Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Energy had violated the law when it created a climate science advisor group. This could potentially put its upcoming final proposal to'repeal' a key climate regulation in danger. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued a judgement that says the Trump administration's creation of a Climate Working Group comprised of five climate skeptics violates the federal law governing advisory committees. The Department of Energy did not respond immediately to a comment request. Key Context Last year, the Environmental Defense Fund and Union of Concerned Scientists...

The EU has confirmed that the landmark trade agreement between India and the European Union, signed on Tuesday, will not result in any changes to the carbon border tariff of the EU, despite India’s concerns about the scheme. India has criticized the policy, which is a world first. Since the EU announced the policy in 2021 it has warned that the levy may hamper the steel trade. This month, the scheme began charging fees for EU imports of high-carbon goods such as steel, cement and others. An EU official stated on Tuesday that "nothing will be phased-out in terms of...

EU considers suspending carbon border levy on fertilisers Farmers pressured to move ahead Yara: Uncertainty puts US plans for low-carbon ammonia in doubt By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS - Yara International's CEO said that if the European Union were to suspend its carbon?border levy, it would force the company to reconsider a low-carbon ammonia plant in the U.S. The EU's Carbon Border Levy, which went into effect on 1 January, imposes CO2 emission fees on imports such as fertilisers and steel to prevent foreign producers from gaining an unfair advantage over European companies that have to pay for their emissions. The...

Microsoft and Indigo Carbon have agreed to purchase a record amount of?2,85 million soil carbon credits related to regenerative farming in the United States. The tech giant is aiming to be "carbon-negative" by 2030, despite the rising emissions associated with AI. Microsoft, the world's largest buyer of carbon credits, did not reveal the price of the 12-year deal. However, someone with knowledge of it said that the credits Indigo Carbon sells are priced between $60 and $80 per ton, which would put the value of the deal anywhere from $171 million to $228 million. Regenerative farming includes a variety of...

ShareAction, an activist group, called on investors to vote against the re-election at NatWest's annual meeting. NatWest is the latest major bank in the United States to relax fossil fuel regulations. This comes as countries struggle to achieve their emission reduction targets and prioritise the short-term energy security of the country. The bank has lifted the ban on refinancing or renewing reserve-based loans for oil and gas extraction, production, exploration and financing. It also offers reserve-based credit to new oil and gas customers. The ban was also lifted on dealings with oil and gas companies who do not have a...

The European Commission announced on Thursday that the European Investment Bank would provide 3 billion euros ($3.5billion) in funding to governments for investments to shield poorer citizens from a future EU carbon market. The new carbon market in the European Union will set a price on CO2 produced by transport and heating fuels from 2028, to encourage the shift to cleaner vehicles and heating systems. Poland and the Czech Republic have opposed this policy, claiming that it would increase fuel and heating costs. The EU has already delayed the launch of the policy by one year until '2028 to try...

The Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that the state should set binding greenhouse gas emission?targets?to achieve net zero by 2050 in order to protect the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. This decision was hailed as a major victory by climate activists. The court gave the Netherlands a deadline of 18 months in which to develop a legally-binding plan to reduce greenhouse gases emissions to zero by 2050, as per international agreements. Legal experts claim that the case, brought by the environmental group Greenpeace, on behalf of Bonaire's residents, is the first test of climate obligations at a national level, as...

The European Commission made public on Tuesday proposals to reverse the effective ban on new sales of internal combustion engines cars starting in 2035. This was done as a result of pressure from Germany and Italy, along with major automakers. The 'delayed package' follows intense lobbying for transitional technologies like plug-in hybrids or CO2-neutral gasoline, while EV-focused businesses and climate campaigners pushed to maintain the original target. The revised package reduces the 2035 target to 90% of what was originally planned, while also introducing measures to speed up the transition to electric vehicles and give manufacturers more flexibility. The main...

Automakers formed alliances with electric vehicle companies to avoid heavy fines from the European Union for carbon emissions. Several legacy automakers could face fines, as the transition from ICEs to EVs has been slower than expected. As of Tuesday, here are the details on the regulations and alliances that will be in place by 2025. Initial EU fines were based on carbon emissions levels in 2025. The European Commission, under pressure from the automakers, allowed compliance in March based on average emissions between 2025 and 2027. All alliance agreements currently in existence, as identified by their pool managers, will expire...

The European Investment Bank's president said that the European Investment Bank had reduced the time it takes to make a decision on security and defence projects from 12 months to 6 months. He also stated that the bank expects the sector to reach or exceed the 3.5% spending target by 2025, before continuing to grow. Under U.S. pressure, the European Union is looking to mobilize up to 800 billion euro ($938 billion), in defence expenditures across the region by the year 2029. This is in response to the threat from Russia and the need to increase its own security. Nadia...

ArcelorMittal said that the energy costs in Germany were too high to allow it to convert its two German plants to carbon-neutral production. The German industrial sector is still suffering from the shock of losing the Russian gas which had been powering its factories for decades. This decision also calls into question the green hydrogen policy launched by the former government. The government hoped that the subsidies would encourage ArcelorMittal's existing plants in Bremen, in the north, and Eisenhuettenstadt, in the east, to convert to furnaces that are fired by hydrogen. Hydrogen can be produced from renewable electricity. The steelmaker...

The Transportation Department has paved the road for looser fuel economy standards in the United States by declaring on Friday that former President Joe Biden’s administration overstepped its authority when it assumed a high uptake of electrical vehicles to calculate rules. The Department made this declaration when it published its final "Resetting of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency Program" (CAFE). Fuel economy requirements will be revised by a separate rule issued by the Trump administration. "We make vehicles more affordable in the United States and we are making it easier to manufacture them." In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy...

John Elkann, Chairman of Stellantis, said on Tuesday that the U.S. Tariffs and strict European Union emission standards put automakers in danger at a time they are facing increased competition from China. Elkann, at a shareholder's meeting, said that the American and European auto industries were at risk due to the current course of tariffs and regulations. He said: "That would be tragic as the car industry is a source for jobs, innovation, and strong communities." Elkann is leading the group as it searches for a new chief executive officer after Carlos Tavares departed late last year. He said that...

The French battery manufacturer Automotive Cells Company announced on Thursday that they welcomed the support of the European Union in the auto industry, but also expressed concern that the support would be too late. The European Commission released an action plan on Wednesday for the automotive industry to help them reach the target of zero carbon emissions for any cars or vans sold within the region by the year 2035. The money included 1.8 billion Euros ($1.94 billion), which was allocated to secure the supply chain for raw materials used in batteries. ACC, owned jointly by Stellantis Mercedes and TotalEnergies...

Stellantis, an automaker, said that it was pleased with the announcement by the European Commission on Tuesday. The Commission announced it would soften the carbon emission standards for cars in the EU. The Commission of the European Union, which is the executive body of the Union, has yielded to European automakers' pressure by announcing that it will give them three years instead only one to reach new CO2 emissions targets for their cars. After meeting with auto industry executives, unions, and campaign groups, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she would instead propose compliance based upon the...

On Monday, the European Commission gave in to pressure from European carmakers and granted them an extra three years to reach CO2 emissions targets for 2025. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, told a press conference that the EU executive will make a proposal this month to allow for compliance over three years rather than just one. To meet the targets, European automakers must sell more electric cars. They lag behind their Chinese and U.S. competitors in this segment. "The goals remain the same." "They have to meet the targets but it means that more breathing room for...