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India looks at using expensive gas-fired electricity to meet peak demand
An adviser at the Power Ministry said that India is considering using gas-fired plants to only meet the surge in electricity demand during peak summer months, May and June, due to higher costs. Gas' share in India's electricity generation fell to 1.5% in 2020 from 3%, because prices reached $12 per million British Thermal Units and ranged from $8 to $18 in the last two year, which means that other forms of power generation are cheaper. About 75% of India’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants, which are more carbon-intensive. The country is trying hard to increase its use renewable energy. Ghanshyamprasad, the chairman of the Central Electricity Authority, spoke at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce's energy summit on Tuesday in New Delhi, but did not provide details about how gas-fired generators would be supported. He said that the government had, in May, drawn up a plan of 100 days to ensure that gas-based plants can be used to meet demand if necessary. The plan also included a contract structure which includes support for startup costs as well as gas price fluctuations. After years of sitting idle due to high gas prices, the government reduced the capacity of the gas plants that are connected to the grid from 25 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts. Prasad stated that India used around 13-14 GW of this capacity during the period with high demand last year. The economic slowdown and heavy rains this year have reduced power demand. The peak power demand was 242 GW, compared with the predicted 270GW. Sethuraman NR in New Delhi, edited by Barbara Lewis.
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German court rules that Apple Watch is not a "CO2-neutral" product
Apple cannot advertise the Apple Watch in Germany as a CO2-neutral product, after a ruling by a German court on Tuesday. The court upheld an environmentalist complaint, 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's spokesperson declined to comment on the decision, saying that it "largely upholds our rigorous approach to Carbon Neutrality". Apple said in June that the German lawsuit threatened to "discourage the kind of credible climate action around the world needed." A spokesperson still referred to a Tuesday report that Apple would phase out the "carbon neutral" label it uses on Apple Watches to comply with EU legislation which will come into effect in September 2026 and restrict the use of these terms. Apple's claim of carbon neutrality is based on a project that it runs in Paraguay, where it offsets emissions by planting Eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus trees are grown in plantations throughout the world. Criticised Ecologists claim that monocultures are harmful to biodiversity and water-intensive, earning them the name 'green deserts'. Frankfurt's court ruled that 75% of the area was not leased beyond 2029, and the company couldn't guarantee that these contracts would be renewed. The statement stated that "the continuation of the Forest Project is not a secure future." Meta and Microsoft, along with Apple, have invested in similar projects throughout Latin America to earn carbon credits. The environmentalist group Deutsche Umwelthilfe, which brought the case and sued Apple, hailed this ruling as a victory against "greenwashing." In a press release, DUH's Juergen Resch said that "the supposed storage of CO2 by commercial eucalyptus plants is limited to only a few short years. The contractual guarantees are insufficient for the future and the ecological integrity in monoculture areas cannot be guaranteed." (Reporting and editing by FriederikeHeine and Louise Heavens).
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This year, record wildfires have burned more than one million hectares in the EU.
EU data show that wildfires have destroyed more than one million hectares in the European Union so far this year, the most in any single year since records began in 2006. Data from the EU's European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), analysed by, revealed that 1,028,000 hectares of land in the EU were ravaged by fires on Tuesday. This is an area larger than Cyprus and the highest total for any previous year. In 2017, the previous record for wildfire area was 998,000 hectares. Spain and Portugal were the worst affected countries, accounting for two thirds of all EU burnt areas. EFFIS data revealed a dramatic increase in wildfires between 5-19 August, a period that coincided with a 16 day heatwave in Iberia. The heatwave that lasted for a week in both countries caused fires to spread, killing at least 8 people and forcing the closure of rail and road services. On Tuesday, however, 10 wildfires raged in Spain's Castille-Leon region where 700 people were evacuated. Meanwhile, blazes continued to burn in northern regions Galicia and Asturias. The cooler temperatures in Portugal brought respite and on Monday, a fire that had been burning for 12 days was put out. Piodao, with its more than 60,000-hectare burnt area, is the largest wildfire in Portugal's history. The climate change will make wildfires, droughts and heatwaves more severe and frequent. However, prevention measures like clearing land of dry vegetation can help to limit fires. EFFIS reported that wildfires have so far emitted more than 38 million tonnes CO2 in the EU. This is the highest level of any previous year. By 2025, the record annual emission will be 41 million tonnes. (Reporting and editing by Aidan Lewis; Additional reporting by Andrey Khlip in Lisbon, Inti Landauro at Madrid; Reporting by Kate Abnett)
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IKAR, a Russian consultancy, raises its 2025 wheat production forecast to 86 million tonnes
The IKAR consulting firm in Russia has increased its forecast for 2025 wheat production to 86.0 millions metric tons from the previous 85.5 million, according to a report released on Tuesday. It also said that it has raised its forecast for wheat exports to 43,0 million metric tonnes from 42.5 millions metric tons. Dmitry Rylko (head of IKAR) said that the upward revision in the forecast was due to higher yields, particularly in the Central and Volga region. Rylko stated that difficult weather conditions in Siberia during harvesting are considered to be a risk factor, but have not been taken into consideration in the forecasts. IKAR reported that its total grain crop forecast for 2025 was raised to 132.8 millions metric tonnes, from 132.0, and grain exports forecast increased to 55.0, from 54.5, million metric ton. Dmitry Patrushev, Russia's deputy prime minister, said last Friday that the official Russian grain crop forecast remains at 135 millions metric tons. Russia has harvested over 85 million metric tonnes of grain. This includes 64 million tons wheat. (Reporting and writing by Olga Popova, editing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge).
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German court rules that Apple Watch is not a "CO2-neutral" product
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 to offset emissions. Frankfurt's court ruled that 75% of the area was not leased beyond 2029, and the company couldn't guarantee that these contracts would be renewed. The statement stated that "the continuation of the Forest Project is not a secure future." The environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe, which brought the case and sued Apple, hailed this ruling as a victory against "greenwashing". The DUH's Juergen Resch stated that "the supposed storage of CO2 is limited to only a few short years. The contractual guarantees are insufficient for the future and the ecological integrity in monoculture areas cannot be guaranteed."
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Danantara and China’s GEM will develop nickel processing hubs in Indonesia
An official announced on Tuesday that the Indonesian sovereign fund Danantara would invest in developing a nickel-processing hub with Chinese battery recycler GEM. The funds, which total $8.3 billion, will be available for investment by 2025. Danantara will be making its first venture into Indonesia's nickel sector, which is crucial to the country. The government wants to capitalize on the vast amount of nickel in the country that's used for electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia is the largest nickel producer in the world. In an interview, Pandu Sjahrir, the investment chief of the fund said that they had just signed a heads-of-agreement with GEM China. "This agreement is about creating a green industry estate," he explained. He said that the project will aim for net-zero emissions of carbon and operate in a sustainable way. "GEM does it with Vale and EcoPro as well as Merdeka Copper Gold and PT Vale Indonesia," he said. He was referring to South Korean battery material maker EcoPro and Nickel miners PT Vale Indonesia. He refused to give a number for the investment, or say when the company could begin operating. When asked for a comment, Merdeka in Jakarta said that it did not have any information to share. Other companies have not responded to comments immediately. Pandu stated that Danantara Indonesia would manage 135 trillion Rupiah in investment funds ($8,31 billion) this year. 70 trillion Rupiah will come from dividends paid by state-owned corporations. He said the rest comes from private sales to Indonesian firms of Patriot bonds and a $10 billion syndicated loan. Danantara, launched in February, manages all government owned companies with assets totaling more than $900 Billion. The fund is modeled after other sovereign funds, such as Singapore's Temasek. Pandu stated that the Patriot bonds were well received by leading Indonesian companies. ($1 = 16,250.0000 Rupiah). (Reporting and writing by Gayatri Sulaiman, Additional reporting by Bernadette Cristina; Editing by Helen Popper.)
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The rouble is rising against the dollar as currency sales begin
In anticipation of the approaching month-end taxes, when exporters sell their foreign currency earnings in order to meet local liabilities that support the Russian currencies, the rouble appreciated against the dollar. LSEG compiled data based on OTC quotes that showed the rouble up 0.55% to 80.25 per dollar at 0900 GMT. The Russian rouble fell 0.1%, to 11,19, against the Chinese yuan. This is the currency most traded in Russia. The rouble fell to 11.29 on Monday, its lowest level for the month. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for Russia’s main export, fell 1.02% to $68.07 per barrel as traders watched potential disruptions in Russian fuel supplies. The rouble is struggling in the face of geopolitical uncertainties and the risk of a drop in export revenues after Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure. On August 28, Russian corporations will pay a single tax, including the mineral extraction tax. Calculations show that the tax on oil production in July will be approximately 575 billion Russian roubles (roughly $7.11 billion), as opposed to 543 billion roubles for June. $1 = 80.8455 Roubles (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson).
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Germany and Canada deepen their critical mineral cooperation in the supply chain
Germany and Canada agreed to intensify their cooperation in the area of critical minerals on Tuesday amid global concerns about China's export restrictions and Berlin's efforts to reduce dependence on a single source. Minerals like copper, tungsten and gallium are essential for Canada's and Germany’s advanced manufacturing, defence technologies and clean energy technologies. China's decision in April to stop exports of rare Earths and magnets related to them has disrupted the global supply chain, causing a major blow to automotive, aerospace, semiconductor, and military contractors. German Economy Minister Katharina Riede and Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources minister Tim Hodgson have signed a Declaration of Intent to Strengthen Cooperation on Critical Minerals, with a focus on midstream technologies, such as processing and refining. They will also coordinate their efforts in the areas of critical minerals, such as rare earth elements, lithium, copper, nickel, tungsten and gallium. The plan is to also encourage more commercial collaboration and research between financial institutions and companies. The agreement does not create any financial obligations and is not legally binding. Funding for activities will be subject to the available funds and domestic laws and regulations of each country. (Reporting and editing by Madeline Chambers.)
US announces that it has begun seabed mineral negotiations with the Cook Islands
State Department announced on Tuesday that the U.S. and the Cook Islands have begun discussions on research regarding seabed mineral exploration and development.
Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands, atolls and other small groups that lie between New Zealand (halfway) and Hawaii. In 2021, the country had a total population of 15,040.
After Beijing signed deals in recent years with Pacific nations on trade, defense and finance, Western nations who traditionally dominated the Pacific Islands are becoming increasingly worried about China's plans for increasing its influence.
A strategic partnership agreement was signed between China and Cook Islands earlier this year. The agreement covered a wide range of areas, from deep-sea mines to scholarships for education. However, it did not include security ties.
The Statement Department stated in a press release that "The Government of the United States of America began discussions with the Government of the Cook Islands regarding the support of research needed to inform seabed exploring and responsible development within the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone."
It said that U.S.-linked companies "sit at forefront" in deep seabed mineral exploration and research on the Cook Islands.
From 1901, the Cook Islands were part of New Zealand. In 1965 it became independent but still in free association with New Zealand.
King Charles III is the head of state. Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens and have New Zealand passports. Cook Islanders have the same rights and privileges as New Zealanders, including the right to work, attend school, and access the medical system.
New Zealand cut off millions of dollars from budget funding for the Cook Islands in June as relations continued to deteriorate due to the island group's growing ties with China. Reporting by Kanishka Shakil and Ismail Shakil, Editing by Christopher Cushing, Lincoln Feast and Ross Colvin.
(source: Reuters)