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Brazilian startup becomes Google's top supplier of carbon credits after Google deals with Amazon for reforestation
Google's biggest deal to remove carbon emissions involves financing the restoration of Amazon rainforests with Brazilian startup Mombak. This comes as big tech searches for high-quality credits that can offset emissions from energy-hungry data centres. Companies said the deal would offset 200 metric tons carbon emissions. This is four times more than a pilot agreement signed in September 2024 between Google and Mombak, its sole supplier of forestry credits. Both companies declined comment on the deal's value. The agreement shows how big tech wants to mitigate the climate impact of its massive investment in data centers that use a lot of power for AI. This is driving demand for Brazil's new reforestation sector to offset carbon emission. Google, owned by Alphabet, committed over $100 million last year to a variety of carbon capture technologies. These ranged from enhanced rock weathering, biochar, direct air capture, and a project to make rivers more acidic. When it was time to double-down, planting trees proved to be the most efficient option. The most derisked method to reduce carbon emissions is photosynthesis, said Randy Spock of Google's carbon credits and removal department. This process involves plants using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in order to produce glucose and oxygen. Brazil, which hosts the United Nations Climate Summit known as COP30 this month in the Amazonian city of Belem, has dubbed the talks the "Forest COP", promoting conservation efforts, including a new proposed fund for tropical rainforests. Push for Credible Offsets Spock stated that Google avoided so-called REDD credit, which rewards developers for preserving forest areas that would have otherwise been destroyed. This market has been shaken by fraud allegations and links to illegal loggers from Brazil. He said: "We quadrupled our efforts on Mombak because they have a very credible strategy." Gabriel Silva, co-founder of Mombak and its Chief Financial Officer, said that the company, which transforms degraded pastureland into jungle, benefits from a "flight for quality". Buyers were purchasing carbon credits, but did not know what they were getting. "They got involved with poor-quality and sometimes fraudulent projects," said he. Google, Meta, Salesforce and Microsoft, who are the largest buyers to date, joined forces with Microsoft last year to create a group called the Symbiosis Coalition. The coalition has pledged to procure over 20,000,000 tons of carbon offsets from nature by 2030, that meet their more stringent scientific standards. This includes the need for transparent and conservative carbon accounting standards as well as long-term benefits to biodiversity and local communities. Mombak's was the only project out of 185 that met the standards. Symbiosis' Executive Director Julia Strong said that Brazil has the most projects awaiting the coalition's approval. She added that more are expected to be approved soon. Prices have been driven up by the scarcity of high-quality credits and the willingness of buyers to pay for these. While REDD credit can be purchased for as little as $10 per ton, Brazil's reforestation projects have sold at prices of $50 or even $100. "Companies are becoming more efficient in terms of production at lower prices." Silva, of Mombak, said: "We are on the right track." But right now, there is more demand than available supply. Reporting by Brad Haynes, Editing by SonaliPaul
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30 years of climate talk: Progress, pitfalls, and a planet at risk
The data on global warming shows a sobering picture as leaders gather in Brazil for the U.N. Climate Summit this month. Three decades have passed since the first annual climate conference. Scientists warn that global temperatures will soon exceed thresholds that could cause catastrophic damage to our planet. Despite years and years of summits and negotiations, greenhouse gas emission has risen by a third. The conventions have had some positive effects, but they are not enough to guarantee the future of life on Earth, said Juan Carlos Monterrey. He is Panama's Special Representative for Climate Change, and he is leading an effort to streamline major environmental agreement. Looking Beyond the Data This grim assessment prompts a fundamental questions ahead of the summit taking place in Belem (Brazil) from Nov. 10-21: Has global climate diplomacy failed? Or, have these gatherings been successful in ways that raw numbers cannot reveal? Simon Stiell is the U.N. The UNFCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says that the annual meetings help. "But it is clear that much more needs to be done, and faster, because climate disasters are hitting every country." Since 1995, global greenhouse gas emissions are up 34%. Scientists say that while this is a lower rate of growth than the 64% increase in the previous three decades, the trajectory still does not support climate stability. We still have time for this problem to be solved. If we do what we promised, we can still win this battle. John Kerry, the U.S. Climate Envoy for Democratic President Joe Biden said: "We just have to get moving and kick ourselves in our rear ends." In an October report, the World Resources Institute, which is a climate advocacy and research group, stated that current government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 are not enough to prevent global temperatures rising over 1.5C above preindustrial levels. This was the threshold set by world governments in a landmark climate agreement signed in Paris in 2015. The Paris Agreement's benchmark of 30-year rolling average is still below this level. However, temperatures in the world have risen above the 1.5C mark some years. 2023 and 2024 are among the hottest years on record. In an interview, James Fletcher said, "There will be a overshoot which is very regrettable." He was the former energy minister of St. Lucia and climate envoy to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). He said that anything above 1.5 degrees Celsius would be disastrous for small island states. Stiell said that if the COP was not in place, the world would have experienced a 5C rise, rather than the projected 3C. The consumption of fossil fuels, which is the main source of global warming emissions, continues to be high. This is due primarily to economic growth, but also, and more recently, energy requirements of data centres that power artificial intelligence. According to the International Energy Agency, coal demand will remain at record levels through 2027 due to rising demand from China, India and developing countries. The International Energy Agency reports that solar and wind power have increased, electric vehicle sales are soaring globally and overall energy efficiency has improved. According to IEA figures, global investment in clean energy surpassed $1 trillion in fossil fuels last year. Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s former climate envoy who has attended every COP summit and is a veteran, said: "We couldn't have imagined that these technological advancements and the price drop for EVs or renewables would happen 10 years ago." Renewables and EVs have largely replaced fossil fuels, but not the growing demand for energy. In the United States, Donald Trump, who called climate change "the world's biggest con job", has cut subsidies for solar and wind power, and electric vehicles. He has also added permits to renewable projects, and opened up more land to drilling and mines. Taylor Rogers said that President Trump would not put our nation's national security and economic well-being at risk to pursue vague climate targets that kill other countries. SHORTCOMINGS AND SUCCESSES Despite the setbacks that the U.S. has suffered, the Paris Climate Agreement - the most important achievement of the COP Process - has survived, even after Trump's withdrawal. This means that countries are theoretically committed to preventing climate change at its worst. The COP's consensus-based negotiations, which requires nearly 200 countries to make a unanimous decision, have come under criticism. Monterrey said that the Panama climate envoy was "drowning" in paperwork. We need a systematic reform. Christiana Figueres was the U.N.'s lead climate official at the Paris talks. She said that the COPs might consider adopting a voting system similar to the International Monetary Fund. Figueres said that the politics of energy is becoming less important, as more and more countries adopt clean technologies. The government is not the driving force behind the change. The private sector, industry and technology development are the main drivers of change. According to the IEA, she pointed out that China alone accounts for a third of the global investment in clean energies, including solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle industries. CATALYST OR A CULPRIT Some COP veterans claim that the current process is best to ensure that all countries are represented at the table in order to solve a global issue. Manuel Pulgar Vidal is the climate director at the World Wildlife Fund and served as the president of COP20 Peru. Kerry, the former U.S. climate ambassador, acknowledged that these annual meetings had flaws but maintained their importance. "We know that they are not enough but banging on and keeping the process going is better than absolute nihilism."
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Portugal's EDP will invest $14 billion between 2026 and 2028, with a focus on U.S. Growth
EDP, Portugal's biggest utility, said it plans to invest 13.99 billion euros (12 billion euros) between 2026-2028. The company will primarily focus on expanding its renewable capacity, with an emphasis on the United States. EDP's strategic plan for the period 2028 reiterated that it had set a target EBITDA of 4.9 billion euro in 2025. This will be 4.9 to 5.0 billion in 2026, and 5.2 billion euros by 2028. The company expects its recurring net profit to be between 1.2 and 1.3 milliards of euros in 2026 and approximately 1.3 billion in 2028. EDP? EDP? The capacity of EDPR is expected to grow to 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2028, from the current 20 GW. EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. The new plan was developed "in the context of an increased demand for energy, particularly supported by increased capacity at data centres in the U.S." A further 3.6 billion euro will be spent on electricity networks in Portugal and Spain. EDP has invested 2.6 billion Euros in the first nine month of 2025.
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Iraq's SOMO has offered more than 6,000,000 tons of fuel oil in the first half of 2026
According to documents and market sources, Iraq's state owned oil company SOMO offered over 6 million metric tonnes of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), between January and June of 2026. The bids will add to the global fuel oil supply, and cap Asia's price differentials that have been in discount since early October. SOMO, in one of its tenders offered to load about 855,000 tons of fuel produced at the Karbala Refinery from the Khor al-Zubair Terminal and Um Qasir Terminal between January and the end of June. The tender will end on November 26. According to the notice, bids are valid for a maximum of 20 days. Market sources reported that in the two other tenders, SOMO offered straight-run HSFO to be loaded during the first half 2026 at the Khor al-Zubair or Fujairah Terminal. They said that these included 1,54 million tons higher-sodium high-fructose HSFO produced by the Basrah Refinery as well as 3,76 million tons lower-sodium low-fructose HSFO manufactured from other refineries. The bids are valid for a maximum of 20 days after the 16th November. SOMO didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
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India's Grasim drops the most in more than 3 years, as paints chief departure fuels growth concerns
Indian textiles-to-chemicals firm Grasim Industries' stock fell as much as 6.5% on Thursday - its steepest in more than three years - as the exit of its paints segment's chief stoked investor concerns about the business' growth path. Rakshit hargave has been with the Aditya Birla Group for four years. He announced on Wednesday that he would step down from his position as CEO at Birla Opus and join biscuit maker Britannia in its role as chief executive officer. Grasim stock, last down 6% in value, is up about 11% this year. This outperforms the benchmark Nifty50 index's 8% increase. Motilal oswal, a brokerage firm, said that the exit would be a major "overhang" in the near term on the stock. Jefferies described it as a "negative shock" that could keep investor sentiment cautious. Hargave was the driving force behind Grasim’s ambitious 2024 Paints foray. The paints were launched in a hurry and gained significant market share in just a few months. This gave Asian Paints, market leader since decades, one of their biggest challenges. Investors are worried about whether Hargave's replacement will be able maintain the growth momentum. This is especially true as the brokerage Geojit Financial Services has almost completed its planned capital expenditure. Grasim reported its second quarter earnings on Wednesday and said that it had spent 97.3% the 100 billion rupees of capital expenditure earmarked for scaling up Birla Opus. It said that Himanshu Kapania, an insider, will supervise the business of paints in the interim. Thomas stated that "the uncertainty at Birla's Opus gives a breather for Asian Paints as well as other rivals like Berger Paints." At the last close of trading, shares of Grasim were up 31% from their foray while Asian Paints had fallen about 18%. Asian Paints' shares rose by 5% on the day. This was due to a higher weighting in MSCI Global Standard Indexes, as part of MSCI's quarterly review, effective November 24, which is now complete. (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
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Sources say that Reliance has offered to buy oil after purchasing at least 12 million barrels of Russian supply.
Trade sources claim that India's Reliance has been trying to resell Middle Eastern crude oil it bought last month in order to replace Russian oil due to Western sanctions. Last month, the refiner stopped buying from Moscow after Rosneft's supplier was sanctioned. It also bought 12 million barrels from the Middle East or the Americas. The Indian conglomerate has a long term deal with Rosneft to purchase nearly 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It had stated that it would adhere to sanctions against Moscow, while maintaining its ties with existing oil suppliers. The United States, Britain and the European Union have all imposed sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the war in Ukraine. New sanctions by the United States target its two largest oil producers, Rosneft, and Lukoil. The United States has given companies until the 21st of November to end transactions with Russian oil producers. Reliance Industries Ltd bought 1,000,000 barrels each of Abu Dhabi Murban, Upper Zakum and Qatar Land to replace Russian supplies. The company also purchased 3 million barrels each of Qatari al Shaheen and Khafji crudes, 2,000,000 barrels each of Iraqi Basrah Medium crudes, 2,000,000 barrels each of Brazilian Tupi or Sapi crudes, and 2,000,000 barrels each of U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude, according to the report. They said that the Middle Eastern grades will be loaded in December and the Brazilian oil delivered in December. The sources claim that WTI will be arriving at Reliance’s Sikka Port in January. They added that sellers include Totsa (the trading arm of TotalEnergies), BP, Gunvor Aramco Trading Repsol Petrobras Eni Vitol and Totsa. They declined to name the sources as they were not authorized to speak with media. Reliance likely purchased more spot cargoes, which traders estimate to be around 16 million barrels. All sources agreed to remain anonymous as this is a sensitive issue. Reliance was not available for immediate comment. Trading companies rarely comment on commercial transactions. One source said that they probably purchased more, and we are missing the incremental term supply, for example. They added that the refiner probably requested more term supplies from Saudi Aramco and other companies such as Kuwait Petroleum Corp, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Iraq's SOMO. RESELLING Reliance, however, has offered to resell some of the cargoes. The refiner sold the crude at a profit, so the sale was likely opportunistic. It was unclear if Reliance sold any more cargoes. Reliance, according to one trader, offered Middle Eastern cargos at a discount to the official selling price. Reliance would have a difficult time reselling Middle Eastern crude at a profit due to the high costs of freight and because producers had cut their prices in this month. The EU announced that it would not accept fuel produced by refineries that have received or processed Russian crude oil 60 days before the date of the bill. Reliance exports 28% of its products to Europe. Reliance is a swing-supplier, which means it can sell its products in Asia, Europe or Africa to get the best price, according to traders. Reliance, owned by Mukesh Ambani and his billionaire company, is India's largest buyer of Russian crude.
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Shanghai copper prices rise after a four-day drop as the selling pressure eases
Shanghai copper rose Thursday, after hitting a low of more than a week in the previous session. The selling pressure had eased after a four-day drop. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active copper contract closed the daytime trading at 86320 yuan (12,118.49 USD) per metric tonne, up 1.04%. The benchmark three-month futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.75%, to $10,777.50 per ton at 0744 GMT. Analysts at Sucden Financial wrote in a report that copper's consolidation was more likely to be the result of "unwinding overextended positions than a change in fundamental narrative". Analysts see a possible deficit in 2026. This is still a major factor in the price of red metal. After a four-day drop, the selling pressure on the Shanghai contract has eased. The metal had reached a new historic high of 89.270 yuan per ton. The London benchmark also gained after a four day loss, after it reached a record high last week of $11,200 on tight global supplies. The traders are now awaiting further economic data, especially from China. There was disappointment in the manufacturing PMI for October. The trade readings will be released on Friday, and the lending data will be released next week. Aluminium, the base metals complex of the SHFE, posted the largest gain. It rose by 1.31%, to 21,630 Yuan per ton. As of 0744 GMT, the benchmark three-month aluminum also increased, rising by 0.84%, to $2,874 per ton. It was also the largest gainer among LME's base metals. Funds turned bullish Aluminium was the subject of concern as concerns about supply grew. The government had set a cap on capacity at 45 million tonnes per year for China, which is the world's largest producer. Other SHFE metals saw tin gain 0.49%; zinc gained 0.29%; lead fell 0.40% and nickel was little altered. The LME also saw a rise in zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. Zinc rose by 0.66%; Nickel rose 0.40%, while tin increased 0.62%. Lead rose by 0.15%. $1 = 7.1230 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair, Janane Venkatraman and Lewis Jackson)
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Iron ore shipments fall by a fourth day, resulting in a four-day drop
Dalian iron ore prices ended higher on Thursday, ending a losing streak of four sessions. This was due to a drop in global shipments. However, lingering worries about oversupply slowed gains. The January contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange traded 0.65% higher, at 777.5 Yuan ($109.15). As of 0721 GMT, the benchmark December iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange increased by 0.37% to $100.39 per ton. Everbright Futures, a Chinese broker, reported that shipments from Australia and Brazil, two of the top producers, declined simultaneously. This led to a drop in global shipments. Atilla WIDNEL, Navigate Commodities' managing director in Singapore, noted that the rally and optimism following the Fourth Plenum have now faded, leaving the markets with very few concrete details about "anti-involutionary" measures or long term steel capacity reforms. The anti-involution campaign is a Chinese initiative to curb overcapacity, and unsustainable low prices in many industries. Mills have not been motivated to permanently close down their plants. This has led to concerns about the possibility of an oversupply for now. Atilla said that the relatively high output of steel during a period of low demand has a negative impact on steel prices, margins and input costs, such as iron ore. Analysts at ANZ believe that the environmental production-cutting warning for Hebei Province is likely to have an impact on blast furnace operations. SteelHome data shows that the total iron ore stocks across Chinese ports increased by 1.53% in a week to 135.6 million tonnes as of October 31. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, have both gained in price, rising by 2.38% and 2.07 percent, respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose. Rebar was up 0.4%, while hot-rolled coil, stainless steel, and wire rod were all flat. ($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan). (Reporting and editing by Mrigank Dahniwala, Eileen Soreng and Lucas Liew)
Portugal's EDP will invest $14 billion between 2026 and 2028, with a focus on US growth
EDP, Portugal's biggest utility, said it plans to invest 13.99 billion euros (12 billion euros) between 2026-2028. The company will mainly focus on expanding its renewable capacity, with an emphasis on the United States.
EDP's strategic plan for the period 2028 reiterates its EBITDA target, which is around 4.9 billion euro in 2025. This will be 4.9-5 billion euro by 2026, and 5.2 billion euro by 2028.
The company expects its recurring net profit to be between 1.2 and 1.3 milliards of euros in 2026 and approximately 1.3 billion in 2028.
Morning trading saw EDP shares drop 4.5%, after a rise of more than 36% this year.
EDP? EDP?
The capacity of EDPR is expected to grow to 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2028, from the current 20 GW.
EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. The new plan was developed "in the context of an increased demand for energy, particularly supported by increased capacity at data centres in the U.S."
A further 3.6 billion euro will be spent on electricity networks in Portugal and Spain.
EDP has invested approximately 2.6 billion Euros in the first nine months 2025. In that time period, the net profit was 974 millions euros.
EDP will use 5 billion euros of asset rotation to fund a part of its investment. This involves selling shares in mature wind and sun parks to finance the purchase of new ones. It will also dispose of 1 billion euro of assets before 2028.
The net debt is expected to remain at 16 billion euro through 2026 and then decline to 15 billion euro by 2028, while maintaining a portfolio with low risk.
EDP anticipates a dividend payment of 60%-70% from 2026-2028. The minimum dividend will increase 5% by 2028 to 0.21 euros.
(source: Reuters)