Latest News
-
Trump's 'targeted' attack on climate data escalates across government
Trump administration limits climate data and references The effort is seen as being more "targeted" than the first term Volunteers restore and preserve historical information By David Sherfinski Data experts are scrambling in the campaign to restore and conserve what they can, while trying to keep up with an all-out effort they claim extends beyond what President Obama was attempting to achieve during his first term. Jonathan Gilmour of the Public Environmental Data Partners coalition, which works on data restoration, said: "It's far more focused, organized and rapid." The Environmental Protection Agency, as part of the administration's efforts to improve public health, is working to revert the long-held conclusion that greenhouse gasses are harmful. The administration also deletes, removes and minimizes reams and reams data and web pages related to environmental justice. "The dominant attitude of the first administration to climate change was a kind of denial." Now, we're seeing climate erasure," Gilmour said. It is much more dangerous than the standard denial. They are trying to remove data that we use in order to understand how humans have affected the world, and how these changes affect us, our societies and health. LIMITATION OF ONLINE AVAILABILITY The Trump administration is limiting and removing climate change data and studies through the EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This includes limiting public access to the National Climate Assessment (NCA), a report mandated by Congress that is released every four years. It documents the human impact on global warming. After the administration fired hundreds of researchers and expert workers working on the new version, a White House official stated that the scope of the report was "reevaluated." Officials said that participants in the assessment were informed they would be "released from their role... whilst plans are being developed for the next assessment, noting there may be future chances for them to engage or contribute." NASA had indicated that it would attempt to host older reports online following the shutdown of the U.S. The Global Change Research Program, which oversees climate assessments, went dark at the end of June. This appears to be no longer the case. NASA spokesperson said that the USGCRP had "met its statutory obligations by presenting their reports to Congress." Bethany Stevens, spokesperson for NASA, said that the agency was not legally bound to host data from globalchange.gov. The Biden administration also removed the environmental justice screening tool it had set up online as part of their pledge to direct at least 40% certain federal benefits towards historically underserved areas. Izzy Pacenza is the project coordinator for the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative, which also works with Public Environmental Data Partners. "But personally, I did not expect it to be so extensive and that it would be one of first things that the Administration targeted." The EPA has not responded to any requests for comments. "SHOOTING YOURSELF in the FOOT" NOAA announced in May that it will no longer be adding disasters to its database if the damage exceeds one billion dollars, but it will keep all historical data up until 2024. NOAA did not also respond to requests for comments. Fulton Ring is a private firm that works in partnership with the Partnership. This month, Fulton Ring announced it had restored its version of the billion dollar disaster database. Rajan Desai is a co-founder of the company. He said, "I believe the attack on data may have been unprecedented. It's a case where you prove a point by shooting yourself in your foot." Why would you ruin your government's capability to send a signal, right? It makes no sense." Desai explained that part of the problem is now spreading the message, which is essentially a grassroots, volunteer effort. "It is a good thing to archive these data sets but, it's like a tree falling in the forest, and no one was around to hear it. Did it really happen?" Desai stated. If you don't do anything useful with these datasets, you won't have the support to start recollecting these data. Pacenza stated that the message was to not allow private individuals to fill government functions. Pacenza stated that "they have the resources and the money to do this and it is also funded by our taxpayer dollars."
-
Southern Copper warns of a possible short-term impact on copper from the U.S.-China Trade War
Raul Jacob, CFO of Grupo Mexico’s Southern Copper, said that the U.S. - China trade war would affect the global economy and the copper sector. He made this statement on a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s quarterly results on Wednesday. He said: "We think that an intense trade war between the U.S.A. and China could affect economic growth around the world." Jacob, the Chief Financial Officer, said that he expects the industry to remain resilient over the long term. He said, "We continue to maintain a positive outlook for the long-term future of copper." Jacob said that the huge price differential between the U.S. Comex and London Metal Exchange (LME), indicated "a strong possibility" for U.S. Tariffs on Copper Imports. The Trump administration announced that it would implement a tariff of 50% starting Friday. Southern Copper is Peru's third largest copper producer. Peru is also the world's third biggest producer of red metal. Peru is one of the largest suppliers of refined copper in the United States. However, the majority of its exports go to China. Jacob stated that there is still uncertainty about the tariffs or their impact on the company. He also noted the fluctuation of U.S. tariff levels on goods from other countries and goods. He declined to comment about the impact of the price differential between Comex and LME. In a recent statement, Grupo Mexico's Chairman German Larrea said that the company is monitoring the impact of tariffs on the business. However, Southern Copper has a strong position to deal with the uncertainty.
-
Bloomberg News reports that Five Point is in negotiations to sell Northwind Midstream for $2.3 billion to MPLX.
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that private equity firm Five Point Infrastructure was in discussions to sell Northwind Midstream Partners to U.S. Midstream Company MPLX for approximately $2.3 billion, citing sources familiar with the situation. Five Point had reported in May that it is looking into a possible sale of Permian Gas Infrastructure Operator. Any deal would be valued at upwards of $ 2 billion including debt. Bloomberg reported that a deal could be struck in the next few weeks, but the talks could still be stalled or delayed. The pipeline sector is booming with deals as companies seek to reduce costs, increase scale or gain access to attractive oil and natural gas producing regions. MPLX announced in February that it would purchase the remaining 55% of the BANGL pipeline from affiliates WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy, for $715m. The company is looking to expand its operations in the Permian basin. Five Point Infrastructure MPLX, and Northwind Midstream Partners have not responded to comments immediately. Northwind Midstream, a company formed by Five Point 2022, has built a pipeline system, compressor stations, and a treatment plant in New Mexico. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, with Pooja Menon from Bengaluru)
-
The Dutch court found that Stellantis, the company now in control of Stellantis Diesel brands, had cheating software dating back to 2009.
On Wednesday, a Dutch court ruled that diesel cars sold in the Netherlands by Opel Peugeot Citroen DS from 2009 had software to cheat emission tests. The court, in its interim ruling on a class-action suit brought by Stellantis against the car companies targeted, did not decide whether compensation was to be paid. Stellantis has denied the allegations and stated that it is considering "appropriate steps" to protect its interests. Stellantis said that it was "firmly convinced" that the vehicles met all emission standards and that the court had made the wrong interim considerations. In Europe, the car brands, as well as several other automakers have been investigated in light of Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal. The Dutch court stated that it was obvious that the diesel cars sold by four different brands from 2014 had software installed that controlled their emission control systems, resulting in artificially low nitrogen oxide emissions during official tests. The same was suspected for Peugeot, Citroen, and DS diesels from this generation.
-
Newcleo Energy has announced that it will no longer be developing UK lead-cooled reactors.
The energy firm newcleo announced on Wednesday that it will suspend its programme for developing lead-cooled fast nuclear reactors in Britain, and wind down substantially its UK activities because of the lack funding and support from the government. LFRs is a type advanced nuclear reactor which can be constructed in factories, assembled on-site and provide heat to industrial processes or hydrogen production. The company, founded in 2021 in Britain, has said that it plans to build up to four reactors of this type in the UK. This would produce a total output of 800 megawatts - enough to power 1.6 million households - and represent an investment of around 4 billion pounds. The company stated that it had been in contact with successive UK governments regarding access to stored plutonium, which it planned to recycle and use in reactors. Stefano Buono is the founder and CEO at newcleo. He said that despite numerous attempts to engage political stakeholders, the UK Government has decided not to make its plutonium readily available in the near future. Instead, it will lend its considerable political backing and funding to other technologies. The firm stated that although funding and support were made available for other small modular reactors, they had not been provided to LFR developers in Britain such as newcleo. It will instead focus on other markets. In Slovakia, newcleo announced that it had formed a joint venture, with the state-owned JAVYS, to build four LFRs, powered by spent nuclear fuel from the country. This has been endorsed by government officials. A similar strategy was used to sign an agreement in June with the Lithuanian Government. The company stated that "newcleo believes these markets, by comparison, offer better prospects than UK at this point in time, and this decision has driven it to focus its attention on territories more aligned to its offering."
-
Angola reports 22 deaths in protests against fuel price hikes
Angola’s government announced on Wednesday that violent protests against an increase in fuel prices had resulted in 22 deaths, up from four the day before. Minibus taxi associations began a three-day walkout on Monday to protest the government's decision to raise diesel prices by one-third as part of its efforts to reduce costly subsidies and stabilize public finances. The looting, vandalism, and clashes between police began in Luanda's capital, then spread into other provinces. On Wednesday, the President Joao Lurenco's Cabinet met and received an updated on security and police response. In a statement, the presidency said that 22 people had died and 197 others were injured. It also reported 1,214 arrests. The statement stated that 65 shops, 25 vehicles, and a few supermarkets and warehouses had been looted. Angola gradually removed fuel subsidies from 2023 when an increase in petrol prices sparked deadly protests. The International Monetary Fund, among others, was also involved. According to the finance minister of this oil-producing nation in Southern Africa, subsidies amounted up to 4% GDP last year. Investors closely monitor the move to phase out subsidy. Pieter Niesten is the portfolio manager of emerging market debt for Neuberger Berman. He said that fuel subsidies are estimated to be 1.8% GDP this year and contribute to fiscal pressures. He said that investors and international financial institutions view subsidy reforms as proof of Angola’s commitment to structural changes. Reporting by Miguel Gomes, Luanda; Colleen Goko, Johannesburg; Writing and editing by Alexander Winning
-
Scientists say that EU climate goals are at risk because ailing forests absorb less carbon dioxide
Scientists warned that the damage to European forests caused by increased logging, fires, droughts and pests reduces their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. This puts European Union emission targets at risk. The European Union is committed to achieving net zero emissions in 2050. This target also includes the expectation of forests to absorb hundreds of millions tonnes of CO2 and store them in soil and trees, compensating for pollution from industries. This assumption is no longer valid. According to a study led by scientists at the EU's Joint Research Centre, its independent science-research service, the amount of CO2 Europe’s forests removed annually from the atmosphere was almost a third less in 2020-2022 than it was in 2010-2014. Nature published a paper that stated that forests in the latter period absorbed approximately 332 million net tons of CO2 equivalent each year. Recent data from EU-countries suggest that the decline is even more pronounced. The paper stated that "this trend, coupled with the declining climate resilient of European forests indicates that the EU’s climate targets which depend on an increasing carbon sink could be at risk." The land and forest sector in Europe offsets around 6 percent of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. This is 2% less than the EU's estimate of what it will take to achieve climate goals. The gap is expected to grow by 2030. Agustin Rubio, professor of soil science and ecology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid said that it would be "wishful" thinking to rely solely on forests to achieve climate targets. He said that while forests can be helpful, they should not be given a specific number to balance carbon budgets. These findings will be a headache for EU government officials who are currently negotiating a legally binding 2040 climate goal. This target is intended to offset the pollution from industries that cannot be eliminated by using forests. Some have already warned that this will not be possible. Last week, Sweden's Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari asked a question at a press conference. "What can we do about factors we as countries or governments cannot control, like forest fires and drought?" The carbon stored in forests is being depleted by over-harvesting and climate-change-driven wildfires, droughts and pest outbreaks. The paper stated that some of these risks could be managed, for example by reducing intensive logging or planting more tree species. This may increase CO2 storage, and help forests to withstand extreme climates and pests.
-
U.S. Steel names three American directors to its board of directors following the Nippon Steel deal
U.S. Steel announced on Wednesday that it has appointed three American board members to its company. This comes more than a week after Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. The company is now a Nippon Steel subsidiary and its board has seven members, of which four are U.S. Citizens, including three independent U.S. Directors. John Donovan is a former CEO of Lockheed Martin and Robert Stevens was formerly a member of U.S. National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Timothy Keating was named as a member of the board. He is a retired admiral of the U.S. Navy who served previously as director of the Pentagon's joint staff as well as commander of United States Pacific Command. Nippon signed the agreement last month to gain approval for the acquisition of U.S. Steel, after high-level opposition. It also Pledged A board with a majority of Americans and a CEO from the United States would help to calm down any concerns. The agreement granted U.S. president Donald Trump an economic golden share as well as the right to nominate a board member. It was not immediately apparent if any of the members of Trump's board were appointed directly by him. The deal gives the U.S. Government a unique level of control over the companies, allowing it to veto a range of corporate decisions from shutting down plants to reducing production capacity and moving jobs abroad. Reporting by Utkarsh shetti and Aishwarya jain in Bengaluru, editing by Pooja desai
Sources: Next Rio Tinto boss to cut costs and make big deals.
Rio Tinto's next CEO, who may be named as early as this month by the company, should be open for mergers and acquisitions that are transformative, as well as for cost-cutting and productivity improvements.
After announcing in May that Jakob Stausholm was stepping down after four and a half years, the world's largest iron ore mining company is now in the final stages of selecting a new CEO through an internal search and an external search.
Two other sources familiarized with the search process said that the finalist for the top position will present their case to the board this week in London. A decision could be made as early as the end of July.
The timing of board presentations and Chair Dominic Barton’s preference that the new CEO be open to large deals, as well as his preference for the CEO to have a positive attitude towards them, were not previously reported.
According to a report in May, internal candidates include Bold Baatar (chief commercial officer) and Simon Trott (chief executive of the iron ore division).
A fifth source said that Chief Technical Officer Mark Davies was also a possible candidate.
All sources spoke under condition of anonymity, as the search is confidential.
Rio, who is due to announce its half-year results July 30, has declined to comment. Barton Trott Baatar Pecresse Davies have not responded to requests for comments.
Barton met with stakeholders after Stausholm announced his departure to discuss this abrupt change of guard.
Two people who were privy to Barton's discussions about his priorities for a new CEO revealed that he had floated the idea of a "big ticket M&A", with another mining giant, if enough value could be found.
According to a source with knowledge of the matter, Glencore approached Rio about a possible asset combination in 2013. However, talks ended abruptly due to Stausholm's pushback. Analysts have suggested that a tie up with Canada's Teck Resources might be more suitable.
A new CEO must walk a thin line between cost discipline, and repositioning a miner to a dramatic shift to copper. Copper is expected to become in high demand because of the energy transition.
The two people Barton briefed said that the company has acknowledged the fact that its internal costs are excessive, including staffing. It needs a CEO to better manage these costs.
Financial results reveal that from 2020 to 2024 costs at Rio increased by 46.5% faster than BHP and Anglo American. This means a new boss must be disciplined in capital allocation.
RBC Capital Markets estimates that Rio will spend $30 to $35 billion over the next decade on capital expenditures, including $8 to $9 billion for lithium projects following Stausholm's May acquisition of two new lithium projects in Chile.
Kaan Peker, an analyst at RBC, said: "Jakob had previously stated that they were going to be aggressive on lithium. But I wouldn't surprise if some lithium growth projects get pushed back a little in favour of Copper."
Peker believes that any M&A is unlikely to happen in the near future because the new CEO would have to boost the share price of the company to get the best bang for the buck if it decides to use its shares to compete with another major miner.
CONSTRAINTS
According to a source familiar with the process of CEO search, the company has been discussing an internal hire.
Analysts and investors have said that all the top contenders face constraints when it comes to a board that is concerned about operational excellence and cutting costs in particular.
They added that it was uncertain whether a hire from within would be able to adequately address cultural issues, such as safety in Guinea or sexual harassment in Australia.
Trott was responsible for the final ramp up of the Gudai Darri mine, which led to the second highest iron ore shipment in history by 2023. He also brought in new replacement projects. He also handled sensitive Aboriginal heritage matters after Rio damaged rock-shelters at Juukan Gorge, in 2020.
Since Trott assumed the role of Rio in 2021 Rio has continued as the most expensive major Australian iron ore producers, its ore has decreased and it is currently guiding production to be in the lower half its expected range this year because of cyclones.
It's been four tough years. "The business showed a turnaround in 2023, but it was a difficult hand because of Juukan Gorge as well as the weather," said Barrenjoey Analyst Glyn Lawcock.
Baatar's concern is his relationship with the government, as he previously worked three years at Rio Copper, including the Oyu Tolgoi mine, in his native Mongolia.
Stausholm announced in 2022 a reset for Mongolia, including a $2.4 billion debt waiver. Rio announced last month that it was forced to alter its mine plan because the government had delayed the transfer of the mining licence.
Pecresse, a candidate who has led the Aluminium division to a 61% rise in EBITDA in 2024, is favored by some members of the board, according o ne source familiar with the process.
He was a former leader of GE's renewable energies division. His departure from GE saw a significant expansion in the global presence of this unit, which had struggled to be profitable.
Davies has been responsible for driving productivity improvements which could help cost-cutting initiatives. He led the smaller titanium and iron and marine arms of the company, but not its major operational divisions like other candidates.
Analysts said that there is only a small chance of Rio hiring an outsider.
Reports have previously mentioned that Newmont CEO Tom Palmer, and former Oz Minerals Chief Andrew Cole, are potential candidates.
Investors have said that Sandfire Resources' CEO Brendan Harris could also be a candidate. Harris didn't respond to a comment request.
(source: Reuters)