Environment

Dutch and British gas wholesale prices fell early on Thursday, as wind energy generation reduced gas-for power demand. Increased liquefied gas arrivals also offset the reduction in Norwegian supplies. LSEG data show that the benchmark Dutch front-month contracts at TTF hub were down 1.32 Euros at 31,23 Euros per megawatt hour or $10.63/mmBtu by 0742 GMT. This was the lowest price for a whole week. The British gas front-month contract fell by 2.55 pence, to 78.21 pence/therm. Meanwhile, the intra-day contract was down by 2.65 pence. Daniel Hynes is a senior commodity strategist with ANZ. He said that ship tracking...

Jamaica's state-run information service JIS announced on Tuesday that it will be using drones donated by Canada in order to improve its disaster response capabilities. The Caribbean is bracing itself for more powerful hurricanes due to climate change and warmer oceans. Why it's important Forecasters from the U.S. Government predict an "above normal" Atlantic hurricane season in 2025, with storms fuelled by warmer ocean temperatures. Their development could also be boosted due to softer westerly winds. Small island states are especially vulnerable to climate change effects, despite their low greenhouse gas emissions. The Caribbean is located in a zone where...

A federal judge dismissed on Tuesday a negligence claim against Berkshire Hathaway’s PacifiCorp utility division in the U.S. Government's lawsuit, which sought more than $900,000,000 in damages stemming a wildfire that occurred in Oregon in 2020. The U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut of Portland found that the government had not specified how PacifiCorp’s alleged negligence in maintaining its powerlines caused the Archie Creek Fire, in southwest Oregon. This rendered its "negligence" per se claim moot. A defendant can be found guilty of negligence per se if they are presumed to have violated a duty of caution when breaking a...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States, said that a group of federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Energy and Commerce are working together to examine offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Coast approved by the Biden Administration. The disclosure, made during a cabinet meeting, shows a concerted effort by President Donald Trump's administration to undermine a sector that was central to the climate and energy agendas of former President Joe Biden. The administration issued a stop work order for a project that was nearly complete off the coasts of Rhode Island...

The executive director of the International Coffee Organization, (ICO), said on Tuesday that tariffs imposed by United States, climate changes, and a smaller Brazilian crop are all driving up coffee prices. Vanusia nogueira, speaking at an event organized by the National Federation of Colombia Coffee Growers, said that despite the trend of rising prices, the market is still volatile. Nogueira stated that the global coffee supply has been in shortfall for several years due to production deficits caused mainly by adverse weather conditions in key growing areas. Brazil, which is the world's biggest coffee producer, has been hit by weather-related...

Apple cannot advertise the Apple Watch in Germany as a CO2-neutral product, after a ruling by a German court on Tuesday. The court sided with environmentalists and found that Apple had misled its consumers. A Frankfurt regional court said that Apple advertised the device as "our first CO2-neutral" product online. The claim was found to be unfounded by a panel and to violate German competition law. Apple refused to comment on this ruling. It can be appealed. Apple's claim of carbon neutrality is based on a project that it runs in Paraguay, where eucalyptus plants are planted on leased land...

Copper and potash, among other minerals, were added to the list of critical minerals for 2025 by the U.S. because they are important to national security and the economy. The Geological Survey (a branch of the U.S. Department of Interior) released the draft list to the Federal Register for public comments for 30 days. According to the Bipartisan policy center, inclusion on the list can make projects more eligible for federal funding or subject to a simplified permitting process. It may also make them more competitive because of fees placed on imported goods. Copper is used widely in transportation, defence,...

Pro Farmer, a crop consultancy, said that U.S. growers will also reap a bumper soybean crop, although dry conditions in parts of the eastern Midwest and pockets of disease pressure in Iowa may limit yield potential. Pro Farmer, which conducted its annual four-day trip across seven of the top-producing states, said that growers can also expect a bumper crop of soybeans, despite dry conditions in some parts of eastern Midwest, and pockets of disease in Iowa. The United States ranks as the top corn exporter in the world and is ranked No. The United States is the world's No. 2...

A new study warns that the Gulf Coast of America is becoming increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. This comes 20 years after Katrina destroyed New Orleans and hundreds of kilometers of coastline. Marc Bove is a German Reinsurer Munich Re meteorologist who warned that with time, the likelihood of major hurricanes making landfall in the area will increase and the effectiveness post-Katrina of flood defense systems would diminish. Katrina, the worst hurricane to ever hit the United States, made its debut in August 2005. It began in Florida, then intensified when it reached the Gulf of Mexico. The storm caused nearly...

The U.S. president Donald Trump blasted on Tuesday the decision of an appeals court to temporarily block federal officials' ability to complete a land transfer required for Rio Tinto to and BHP's Resolution Copper Project in Arizona. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, has ruled that the transfer - which was scheduled for Tuesday - should be halted while the court weighs a request from San Carlos Apache tribe to block this project due to religious and cultural reasons. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, ruled Monday that the transfer...

The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a comprehensive plan to sell more than 30 oil and gas leasing rights in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska's Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico over the next fifteen years. Why it's important The plan is in line with the energy dominance agenda of Trump's administration to increase domestic fossil fuel production. This schedule is a major departure from the former president Joe Biden's administration, which had planned to auction a small number of drilling right auctions in order to combat climate change. KEY QUOTE Interior Secretary Doug Burgum...

A review of data from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that less than 1 percent of customers who complained about the closure of their checking or savings accounts in the past 13 years said the banks acted for political or religion reasons. This is despite the White House mounting a campaign against "systemic abuses" of the financial system, which it claims have wronged conservatives. After citing what Trump termed discrimination against conservatives, U.S. president Donald Trump signed an executive directive earlier this month requiring banks to not discriminate on the basis of political or religious beliefs. This practice...

Brazilian officials announced on Friday that the government of Brazil has ruled out subsidizing hotel rates for all delegates at the United Nations Climate Summit it will be hosting in November. This was after a meeting they described as being tense with U.N. officials. As delegations become increasingly concerned about the price of accommodation in Belem, the Amazonian coastal city that hosts the Amazon Conference, the standoff has occurred. Brazil is trying to double the number of hotel rooms available. Entrepreneurs have also been creative in converting love-motels and ferryboats into hotels to accommodate delegations. The Brazilian government has rejected...

Javier Robeto, the country manager of Aldebaran Resources Canada, said that at least $1.5 billion will be needed to develop the Altar copper project located in northern Argentina. Robeto stated that the company will include this figure in its preliminary assessment of September. This will show Altar has about 32 billion pounds copper resources and approximately 6.7 million ounces gold resources. Aldebaran does not know if it will be able to spend the money in time to qualify under RIGI (the government's incentive program), which provides long-term tax breaks as well as access to international dispute tribunals for investments above...

The International Grains Council raised its forecast of 2025/26 for global corn production. This is largely due to an improved outlook on the U.S. harvest. In a monthly report, the intergovernmental body projected that global corn production would hit a record of 1.299 billion tonnes, an increase of 23 million tons over its previous estimate. The IGC stated that "the unusually sharp revision is mainly due to upgraded US maize (corn), area and yield forecasts." The U.S. corn harvest was projected at 423.5 millions tons, an increase from the previous estimate of 398.9 millions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture increased...

China has suspended the imports of Argentinean poultry products as of August 20, only five months after lifting a ban that lasted two years. The ban was imposed after the Argentinean government temporarily halted shipments due to a detection of avian influenza in a commercial poultry farm. The notice of suspension posted on the Chinese Customs website did not specify the reason or the length of time the suspension would last. The Customs authorities didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. This week, Argentina's National Health Service (Senasa), confirmed a case in the province of Buenos Aires of Highly...

The Brazilian antitrust authority suspended the "soy moratorium" on Tuesday, a private agreement enforced globally by grain traders to protect Amazon rainforests from deforestation caused by soy. This is in response to the set of measures implemented by the agency Monday, which included launching a full-blown investigation into 30 traders and groups for alleged practices anti-competitive. The soy ban, which has been hailed for years as one of most successful initiatives in protecting the Amazon rainforests, prohibits soybean traders from purchasing from farmers that cleared land after July 2008. The CADE General Superintendent regulator ruled, however, that the soy moratorium...

The Brazilian antitrust authority suspended the "soy moratorium" on Tuesday, a private agreement enforced globally by grain traders to protect Amazon rainforests from deforestation caused by soy. The soy ban has been touted as one of most effective initiatives to protect Amazon rainforests because it prohibits soybean traders from purchasing from farmers that cleared land in the Amazon after July 2008. The General Superintendent of the Brazilian antitrust regulator CADE ruled on Monday that this represents a possible breach of Brazilian competition laws. After completing a preliminary inquiry, Superintendent Alexandre Barreto de Souza issued an order to firms that they...

The cold snap that hit Brazil's Cerrado Mineiro region earlier this month has reduced the size of the next crop by about 412,000 60 kg bags or 5.5%. This was revealed in a report released on Tuesday by the coffee cooperative Expocacer. Expocacer reported in a recent report that temperatures in the area plummeted to just 2 degrees Celsius (35,6 degrees Fahrenheit). Glaucio Castro, President of the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation told reporters at the time the cold snap could have damaged the buds on the coffee trees, reducing the flowering potential for the 2026 harvest. According to the latest...

The executive secretary to the President's Office said that on Friday, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva had signed into law a measure easing the rules for environmental licensing, but vetoed several provisions. The "Devastation Bill", as it is called by environmentalists and supported by Brazil's powerful agricultural community, significantly weakens the environmental controls of licensing processes. States and municipalities will have more authority to grant licenses for business development. Agribusiness has supported the bill, as it will make it easier to expand operations in environmentally sensitive regions. Miriam Belchior, executive secretary of Lula's office, confirmed that Lula had...

Standard Chartered will sell millions of credits to protect the Amazon rainforest for the Brazilian state Acre, as part of its efforts to expand the carbon credit business and build trust in a nascent industry. Standard Chartered said that its agreement with Acre to sell exclusively forest carbon credits over a five-year period is the first time a major international financial institution has worked in such a way to support the conservation of forests. The involvement of the bank could give legitimacy to a market that has been struggling in recent months, after Brazilian prosecutors sought to cancel a similar...

Brazil has refused to move the COP30 global climate summit scheduled for November from Belem despite mounting pressure due to the soaring prices of accommodation in the Amazonian City. Andre Correa do Lago (President of COP30) told reporters Friday that the COP and the Leaders' Summit will both be held in Belem. "There is no Plan B." The annual U.N. Summit will bring together nearly all governments in the world to discuss their efforts to combat climate change. Pre-summit talk has been dominated by concerns over logistics rather than global policy. The Developing Countries have said that they can't afford...

Brazil has refused to move the global COP30 summit scheduled for November from Belem despite mounting pressure due to the soaring prices of accommodation in the Amazonian City. Andre Correa do Lago (President of COP30) told reporters Friday that the COP and the Leaders' Summit will both be held in Belem. "There is no Plan B." The annual U.N. Summit will bring together nearly all governments in the world to discuss their efforts to combat climate change. Pre-summit talk has been dominated by concerns over logistics rather than global climate policies. The cheapest accommodation in Belem has risen dramatically due...

According to the data released by the Colombian Environment Ministry on Thursday, deforestation increased in Colombia last year. The destruction of 113,608 ha (1,136 sq km) was mainly in the Amazon region. This is a 43% increase over the previous year. This is a dramatic reversal from 2023, when the forest area destroyed fell by 36% compared to the previous year. It now stands at 79.256 hectares (793 sq km), its lowest level for 23 years. Lena Estrada, Environment Minister in Bogota, said that "deforestation continues." "The Amazon is the most affected area, which is a fragile region." Estrada stated...