Environment

Local authorities reported that tornadoes and storms in southern Michigan killed or injured at least 'four' people on Friday. Multiple homes were destroyed and a large number of residents lost power. Videos on social media, claiming to come from Three Rivers and Union City, showed massive whirlwinds that tore roofs off of buildings and lifted debris into the sky. Local media footage showed cars and buildings smashed, as well as poles, trees, and road signs that had been blown. The sheriff's department of Branch County reported three fatalities and 12 injuries in the area where Union City is situated. According...

South32, an Australian mining company, said that the U.S. Forest Service had issued a draft decision allowing its Hermosa Mine?project to expand from private land into federal land. South32 reported that the agency had released a draft Record of Decision as well as a final Environmental impact Statement for the project located in the Patagonia Mountains. Hermosa is a deposit of silver, manganese and zinc. The authorization, if approved, would allow South32, Inc. to build infrastructure on land within the Coronado National Forest. This includes a primary access road and a secondary tailings dry-stack facility. South32 stated that Hermosa was...

A senior OECD official said that inflation is the biggest?risk to global bond markets. This comes as energy prices have risen following?the U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran. Carmine Di Noia, OECD director of financial affairs and enterprise affairs, said in an interview before the release of Wednesday's annual debt reports by the Paris-based organization that "Now we 'are having another huge stress test." Investors are worried about inflation and higher energy costs, as oil prices have increased by 16% in the last week. Di Noia said that if this happens, the higher bond yields will "put even more...

The U.S. Interior Department officials said that a database which revealed how the Trump administration intended to revise information about key phases in American history on national 'park sites, was deliberate and the employees who released it would be held accountable. The Washington Post first revealed an internal government database, which was posted to two public websites on Monday. It showed the extent of the Trump Administration's efforts to remove or revise information about African-American History, LGBT rights and climate change at hundreds of National Park sites. A spokesperson for the Interior Department said, "The narrative advanced is false?and these...

Activists said that a new federal approach, which gives U.S. firms more control over the proposals that shareholders vote on during their annual meetings, creates regulatory uncertainty and leads to litigation. In November, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission changed its tradition of having staff approve shareholder proposals before a company rejects them. It gave executives greater discretion in deciding which resolutions to include on their proxy statement, the mandatory document distributed before shareholder meetings. At least three lawsuits have been filed by investors against AT&T and Axon Enterprises, and there could be more. Giovanna Eichner, a shareholder advocate with...

The Energy Information Administration reported on Friday that U.S. crude oil production dropped for the second consecutive month in December, to its lowest level since June of last year. Meanwhile, demand was at a multi-month high. The EIA reported that crude?oil?production averaged 13,66 million barrels a day in December. This was down by about 133,000 barrels a day from November. This was the biggest month-over-month drop in U.S. crude oil production since January 2025 when bad weather forced major?production centers to shut down. Analysts have predicted that oil production will slow due to the recent decline in oil prices. U.S....

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has not verified the accuracy of these stories. Paramount Skydance has emerged as the winner of a long-running battle to buy Warner Bros Discovery after Netflix refused to increase its bid on Thursday. - ?Artificial intelligence company Anthropic said it wouldn't back down in ?a dispute with the Department of Defense over artificial-intelligence guardrails, complicating ?efforts to reach a compromise ahead of a Friday deadline. Jack Dorsey’s Block announced on Thursday that it would cut?over 4,500 jobs, or nearly?half of its workforce as part of...

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a draft regulation Thursday, which will help regulate fusion energy. It is an emerging technology whose?supporters hope it can one day generate electricity without generating long-lasting?radioactive _waste. Since decades, companies and scientists in laboratories around the globe have tried to use large magnets or lasers to promote continuous nuclear fusion reactions. In these reactions, light atoms are forced to combine to release enormous amounts of energy. The leaders of the fusion energy industry met with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy in December last year. Department of Energy officials in December last year...

Vanguard Group, a fund manager, announced on Thursday that it had "agreed" to settle a lawsuit filed by the Republican Attorneys General of Texas, Kansas, and other states. They had accused the fund manager, and its rivals, of violating antitrust laws through their climate activism. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach stated in a press statement that Vanguard would pay $29.5 million to the group of states who brought the lawsuit, "to support enforcement and consumer relief effort." Kobach stated that Vanguard also "agreed" to strict passive commitments, which prohibit it from dictating strategy to companies in which it invests and...

Louisiana utility regulators deny a group of environmental lawyers' claims Request for Investigation Earthjustice, a law group, said on Wednesday that a $27 billion Meta Platforms Data Center 'deal was being negotiated. Earthjustice sent a request to the Louisiana Public Service Commission last month asking them to investigate project financing. The group argued that this could lead to unfair costs being passed on the utility customers. The motion focused on Meta's proposed Richland Parish data center project, where three new gas-fired energy plants would be built. Earthjustice's petition stated that Meta had signed a new financial agreement for the data...

The White House announced on Thursday that it would host leading data centers and artificial intelligence companies in the next week, including Microsoft, Anthropic, and Meta Platforms. This is to formalize an agreement to protect consumers from rising energy costs. The meeting is scheduled for 4 March and was first reported by. It will advance a initiative that President Donald Trump announced during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday. He said he told major technology companies they had to build their own power plant to run the fleet of rapidly expanding data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure....

Jarrett Renshaw & Laila Kearney Two sources have confirmed that the White House will host Microsoft, Anthropic, and Meta Platforms, among others, in early March, to "formalize" a deal designed to shield consumers from rising electricity costs. The meeting will likely advance an initiative that President Donald Trump announced during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday. He said he told major technology companies they "must build their power plants" to run the fleet of rapidly expanding data centers and other artificial intelligence infrastructure. Sources said that the pledge being discussed is likely to be similar to commitments made...

According to documents released by the Chinese government on Thursday, China will reduce its carbon intensity - or carbon emissions per unit gross domestic product - by 17% in its current five year plan. This is an acceleration of the previous period between 2020 and '2025. China's new five-year plan released on Thursday called for the replacement of 30 million metric tonnes per year with renewables, and pushing towards peak coal. However, it did not set further limits on coal use. China's carbon intensity was reduced by 12% during the five-year plan which ended last year. According to a report...

T&E, a campaign group for transport and the environment, said in a report on Monday that scaling up production in Europe would reduce the 'cost gap' between EU-made and Chinese batteries to 30%, down from the current 90%. The group urged the EU, through its "Made in Europe", plans, to support this sector. The EU executive will propose its "Industrial Accelerator Act", which requires that local products be given priority when using public funds. It is intended to cover "key sectors" such as batteries, solar, wind, hydrogen manufacturing, nuclear power, and electric vehicles. Some automakers claim that local content requirements...

South Korean shares have surged by 50% in the first two month of 2026, and other emerging markets are also showing double-digit gains. Even the most ardent EM bulls must wonder if this raging?rally will continue. South Korea's figures are stunning. The benchmark KOSPI has more than doubled over the past six months and is now up 175% since the "Liberation Day tariff chaos" of U.S. President Donald Trump in April last year. This is after a 75% increase in the calendar year 2025. Shares of Samsung, the top memory chipmaker in the world, almost doubled this year and more...

Tata Motors' CEO stated that the company is confident its new, low-priced 'Punch EV' will be able to crack the 'dominant budget segment' of the third largest 'car'market in the world for electric vehicles. Approximately 65% of India's 4.6 million passenger cars sold last year had a price below $13,200. Just 1.6% of the affordable cars sold in India last year were EVs. In India, there are currently only a few EVs in the lower-price range. Shailesh C. Chandra, a reporter at the Reuters news agency, said that buyers are held back by concerns about their battery life and range...

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...