Environment

The Australian Environment Ministry announced on Wednesday that the U.S. aluminum company Alcoa would pay A$55,000,000 ($38.9,000,000) to remediate native forests it illegally removed in Western Australia?in order to mine bauxite. The payment is for nearly 2,100 hectares (5.190 acres) in Northern Jarrah Forest south of Perth that will be cleared without government approval between 2019 and 2025. The Ministry called this payment "unprecedented", as it was the largest ever made. It said that the money would be used to fund initiatives aimed at conservation, including programmes to protect endangered black cockatoos who nest in jarrah tree nests and improve...

Attorneys General from California and Connecticut have announced a "multi-state plan of attack" to combat President Donald Trump's decision to repeal the federal climate regulation for'vehicles'. The Environmental Protection Agency rescinded last week the "endangerment findings" which said that greenhouse gas emissions from cars endanger the public's health. Trump called this "the biggest deregulatory measure in the history of the United States." Connecticut Attorney General William Tong stated in an interview that "we're going to take action" and described efforts to determine standing, claims, and other elements of the?suit. "We are putting together the best possible plan of action." The...

On Tuesday, groups representing park conservationists as well as historians and scientists filed suit to prevent President Donald Trump’s administration from removing information from monuments and parks. This was after signs and exhibits that touched on slavery and climate changes were removed. In a lawsuit filed before the federal court in Boston, the National Parks Conservation Association and the American Association for State and Local History and other groups claim that the U.S. Department of Interior is engaging in a "sustained effort to erase history and undermine scientific knowledge." The lawsuit claims that the Department of Interior is removing exhibits...

Authorities said that eight skiers were killed in an avalanche on California's Sierra Nevada mountains, while one remains missing. This is the deadliest avalanche to ever occur in U.S. History. Rescuers found six survivors late Tuesday, including a man and five females, amid an intense winterstorm that dumped several feet of snow in the Sierra highlands. A group of backcountry skiing enthusiasts were buried by an avalanche that swept through the Castle Peak area in Truckee, California around 11:30 am Pacific time, Tuesday. Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon told a Wednesday afternoon press conference that one of the skiers is...

While 2026 is off to a rough start in terms of geopolitics, many equity investors around the world are still trying to find bargains. There are still some pockets of potential value for those who are willing to look outside the U.S. You might not expect to find them. Last year at this time, European and emerging markets equities traded below their historical valuation ranges. But after a strong 12 month run, these broad discounts have mostly disappeared and now most major indices look fully valued. Price pullbacks are likely to occur in a year with high valuations and increased...

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that the federal government would step in on Monday to protect the Potomac River after a major sewer pipe collapsed in Washington, D.C., last month. In a post on social media, Trump said: "I'm directing Federal Authorities immediately to provide all necessary management, direction, and coordination to protect the Potomac River, the Water Supply of the Capital Region, as well as our precious National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City." Maryland's Democratic governor Wes Moore has accused the Republican administration of failing to act on this issue. He also said that the U.S. Environmental...

The U.S. effort to prevent oil reaching the Caribbean's largest island has resulted in a swarm of flies and the smell of rotten foodstuffs. This is one of the visible effects of the U.S. attempt. Cubadebate, a state-run news outlet, reported that fuel shortages had caused only 44 out of Havana’s 106 garbage trucks to continue operating. This slowed down the garbage collection. Residents have been sorting through cardboard boxes, used plastic bags, rags, and other waste to find scraps that they can reuse, but motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists must avoid the huge piles. Jose Ramon Cruz said that the...

Havana's garbage piles up on the streets, attracting hordes flies, and smelling of rotten foods. This is one of the visible effects of the U.S. effort to prevent oil reaching the Caribbean's largest island. Cubadebate, a state-run news outlet, reported that only 44 out of 106 Havana's rubbish trucks could continue to operate due to fuel shortages. This slowed down garbage collection. Residents sorted through the piles of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, rags and used bags to find scraps that they could reuse, but motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists were forced to avoid the massive heaps. Jose Ramon Cruz, a local...

The federal judge rejected the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request to dismiss Exxon Mobil’s lawsuit accusing Bonta of defamation for criticizing Exxon Mobil’s?advanced? plastics recycling initiatives. Bonta claimed that he had immunity from suit because he criticised Exxon while in his official capacity of Attorney General and within the "heartland' of his employment duties. The Beaumont, Texas judge said that whether Bonta criticised Exxon with good faith is a factual question to be decided later. Truncale said he had no jurisdiction to hear the claims made against the Sierra Club, Baykeeper Heal the Bay, and Surfrider Foundation. Bonta's Office...

The repeal by President Donald Trump of the federal climate regulations will free automakers of costly emissions standards at the tailpipe. However, the move may spark lawsuits or force businesses to navigate a future of uncertain state and regional rules. Trump's Environmental Protection Agency finalized on Thursday its repeal of "endangerment findings" for vehicles. This was a 2009 determination that greenhouse gas emission endanger the health of humans. The agency was given the authority to regulate vehicle emissions, and those from other sectors which produce or burn fossil fuels. Trump claimed that the "biggest deregulation action" of all time would...

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...

Data from Benchmark Mineral - Intelligence (BMI), a consultancy, showed that global EV registrations dropped 3% in January due to the introduction of a EV purchase 'tax' and lower EV subsides in China as well as policy alterations in the U.S. Why it's important Global automakers with a large exposure to the U.S. have written down $55 billion over the last year. This is due to their scaling back of electric vehicle ambitions as they face a difficult U.S. marketplace under President Donald Trump. They also faced price wars and more complex vehicle types in Europe. The European Union, as...

Traders reported that the cyclone which hit Madagascar this week has stopped 'production' at Ambatovy Cobalt and Nickel Miner. They added that a prolonged outage could increase prices for battery materials. Ambatovy is owned by the Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp and the state-owned Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation. In 2024, it will produce?around 28,000. metric tons nickel and 2,500 tons cobalt. Exports are likely to be disrupted, as Madagascar's principal port Toamasina has been?hit severely. Ambatovy & Sumitomo didn't?respond to requests for comment. Ambatovy produces Nickel and Cobalt Briquettes that are easily crushed to small particles, and...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday released interim rules to enforce provisions in President Donald Trump's tax law which restrict companies from claiming federal clean energy subsidies if they are too reliant on Chinese made?equipment. Since the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July last year, solar and wind developers, as well as factory owners, have been anxiously waiting for this?guidance. It applies to lucrative tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing, and electricity generation. The law has accelerated expiration dates for many clean energy tax credits from the Biden era and introduced complex requirements to reduce U.S....

Analysts?and producers say that Paraguay’s soybean crop in 2025/26 is expected to exceed 10 million tons, and could become the biggest ever recorded by the country. StoneX, a South American agricultural?consultancy, revised its estimate of the crop harvested from October to February, increasing it by 500,000 tons. This is a significant increase over the previous estimate, which was 9.65 million tonnes. The crop, according to StoneX, "is among the best recorded ever" in this landlocked South American producer, the report stated. Analysts believe the final production total will depend on the second, smaller crop (or "zafrina") harvested between April-May. StoneX's...

Iron ore futures in Dalian fell for the sixth time on Monday, as concerns over supply disruptions subsided after the Australian hub port resumed operations after a cyclone alert. As of 0258 GMT, the most-traded contract for May iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 0.33% lower. It was 762.5 Yuan ($109.98). The benchmark March ore traded on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.72% to $99.75 per ton. Singapore's benchmark dropped below $100 per ton, as the demand in China slowed before the Lunar New Year holiday. Data from Steelhome, released on 6 February, showed that iron ore inventories...

Agrotools is a Brazilian agricultural data service firm that will?complete building what they claim will be the largest platform in the world for payment of environment services, after securing an subsidized loan from the government, said a senior executive this week. Bernardo 'Pires, government relations manager at the firm, explained in an interview that the platform allows farmers receive lease payments at market rates in exchange for maintaining native vegetation on their land. Businesses and governments that are required to reduce their carbon footprint will provide the money, which they will then share with farmers from a region considered one...

The Meteorological Department of China announced on Thursday that the average temperature in China for the year was 10.9 degrees Celsius (51,6 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the highest ever recorded high-temperature day. At a press event, the administration announced its climate bulletin for 2025. The World?Meteorological Organisation stated in January that last year was?amongst the three warmest years on record. The administration stated that China's annual average temperature has risen in recent decades. 2025 will be the hottest year since 1961 when the first nationwide records began. The intensity of heavy rainfall and extreme heat has increased, increasing the risk...

Researchers studying satellite data for California discovered that the?more electric vehicles in a neighbourhood, the lower air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. Satellite data confirmed, on the other hand, that areas that increased their number of gas-powered cars saw an increase in pollution. In a press release, Sandrah Eckel from the Keck Medical School at USC stated that California's move to electric vehicles has already made measurable changes in the air quality. Researchers reported in The Lancet Planetary Health that for every 200 zero emission vehicles added to Californian neighborhoods between 2019-2023, nitrogen dioxide concentrations dropped by 1.1%. Pollutants...

Teams of snowmakers are racing against the clock to meet the competition requirements for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, within ever-shorter cold windows. Climate change is reshaping the limits of technology. Organisers at Italy's Alpine venues are increasingly relying on artificially-produced snow to compensate for the declining and less predictable natural snowfall. This means that months of preparation can be squeezed into short periods of subzero temperatures, leaving less room for error. In order to accommodate the Olympic competition in Milano - Cortina, resorts like Livigno, Bormio and Antholz-Anterselva, which are already established, have added reservoirs, pumps and snow...

On Saturday, almost 4,000 flights in the U.S. were cancelled ahead of a monster storm that already has?cut off power to thousands utility customers as far as Texas? and threatens to paralyze east states with heavy snowfall. Forecasters predicted that a monster winter storm, which has already 'cut power to thousands of utility customers as far west as Texas,' and threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall, will sweep across the eastern two thirds of the country on Sunday, and continue into next week. Donald Trump, who called the storms historic, approved federal disaster declarations on Saturday in South...

eBay, the e-commerce giant, unveiled on Wednesday its first climate change plan and said it would increase efforts to decarbonize?its operations?and supply chain?as part of a plan?to reach?net-zero emission levels by 2045. The plan was validated by Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a standard-setting organization. It builds on achieving an earlier goal to power all of its facilities with 100% renewable electricity by 2020, which had been achieved in 2024. Renee Morin, Chief Sustainability Officer at eBay, said the company aims to align with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial level. This...

Data showed that global EV registrations increased by 20% in 2018, but will likely slow down in 2026. This is because a combination of a slowdown in China, and the relaxation of electrification goals worldwide, led to a sales increase in December which was the lowest since February 2024. The number of monthly'registrations' of electric vehicles in North America, including plug-in and battery hybrids, has dropped even further since the United States ended its EV tax credit program in October, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Why it's important According to BMI data manager Charles Lester, radical policy changes, such as...

Nestle has expanded its recall of certain batches of infant nutrition products beyond Europe. It now includes Africa, Americas, and Asia. Nestle recalled batches of SMA formula, BEBA formula, NAN formula, and Alfamino formulation because they may have been contaminated with cereulide. This toxin can cause nausea and vomiting. Health warnings have been issued in 37 countries including the majority of European states, Australia, Brazil and China. The recall puts more pressure on KitKat, Nescafe and its new CEO Philipp Navratil who is trying to restore growth with a portfolio review following management changes. Nestle shares are down 5.7% this...