Palmettos rise after three days of falling, and is set to experience its first weekly decline in four
Malaysian palm-oil futures were up on Friday, after three sessions in a row of losses. However, they are on track for their first weekly drop in four weeks. The market is awaiting export data to provide further clues. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Derivatives Exchange for January delivery had gained 14 ringgit or 0.28% to 4,978 Ringgit ($1,112.15) per metric ton. The contract is down 2.41% for the week.
SMA Solar, a German company, will cut 1,100 jobs and lower its full-year forecast
SMA Solar Technology, a German supplier of solar power components, announced on Wednesday that it plans to reduce up to 1,100 positions worldwide and lower its forecasts for this year. This comes nearly two months after the company announced a restructuring plan. SMA Solar began a restructuring program for the entire company in September to reduce costs by up to 200 millions euros.
EU Approves $21.27B Just Transition Fund
European Union countries on Monday approved the bloc's flagship fund to wean them off fossil fuels and protect communities most affected, paving the way for members to start receiving the cash.The 17.5 billion euro ($21.27 billion) Just Transition Fund (JTF) combines money from the EU's budget and its COVID-19 recovery fund.It is designed to support communities most affected by plans to shut down coal…
EU Lawmakers Set Energy Efficiency, Renewables Targets
European Union lawmakers on Tuesday targeted energy savings of 32.5 percent and a renewable energy uplift of 32 percent by 2030, in a push to meet the bloc's pledge under the Paris climate accord to curb global warming.National governments now have until the end of the year to draft their own plans for implementing the bloc's overall climate goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030…
Shipping Industry Welcomes EU Support to Green Fuel
The shipping industry and the European Independent fuel suppliers welcome the European Parliament’s support to incentivize the uptake of low-carbon and carbon-free alternative fuels and to remove disparities in energy taxation.On 25 October the European Parliament adopted its report on The deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels in the EU which…
EU Readies 'Polluter Pays' for Ship Waste
The Transport Committee of the European Parliament adopted the Meissner report on the Port Reception Facilities and gave a mandate to the Rapporteur to start negotiations with the Council to finalise the text of the new law.The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) welcomes in particular the proposal to strengthen the ‘polluter pays’ principle by discouraging the delivery of unreasonable quantities of garbage…
Tax Sops for Shore-Side Electricity Supply for Ships in EU
The Transport committee of the European Parliament supported yesterday the removal of tax barriers for the uptake of shore-side electricity supply (OPS) in ports for ships at berth.The Ertug report on the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels in the EU which was voted by the Transport committee, pointed out that taxation has a major impact on…
EU Agrees Final Energy Saving, Renewables Targets
The European Union on Wednesday finalized new climate rules after months of talks, targeting a total energy saving of 32.5 percent and an uplift in the share of renewable energy to 32 percent by 2030.National governments must now draft their own plans for implementing the bloc's overall climate goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent…
Britain to Stay in EU Carbon Market until 2020
Britain intends to remain in Europe's emission trading system (ETS) until at least the end of its third trading phase running from 2013-2020, Britain's energy minister said on Wednesday. The status of Britain's participation in the scheme following the country's exit from the European Union in March 2019 had been unclear until now. Energy and clean growth…
EU Lawmakers to Guard Carbon Market from Hard Brexit
European lawmakers will vote this week on a plan to protect the carbon market against a collapse of Brexit talks, which they fear would crash the price of tradeable emissions permits. The bill was prompted by mounting concern that Britain could fail to reach at least a transitional trade deal with the European Union before its scheduled departure from the bloc less than two years from now.
New EU Rules Aim to Make Power Cheaper
Utilities in the European Union may have to offer more flexible prices from 2020 to encourage consumers to use more electricity when supplies are abundant and cheap, according to proposed new rules, a top EU official said. Most European utilities sell at fixed prices, regardless of price swings on wholesale markets, which makes sense when most power comes from coal and nuclear plants that are always on.
Rotterdam Wants an Ambitious CO2 Reduction Plan from IMO
The Port of Rotterdam Authority is calling on the European Parliament to put pressure on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to produce an ambitious worldwide CO2 reduction plan for sea shipping. Given the recent plans, measures could only be expected by 2023 at the earliest. “Far too late. The plans are not challenging enough,” believes Allard Castelein.
Germany Backs Carbon Price in EU Emissions Push
Germany will back a plan to strengthen carbon prices, a senior official said on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting of European Union environment ministers on balancing the needs of industry with cutting emissions in reforming the carbon market. EU member states such as Germany, Italy, Austria and Greece are prioritising measures to ensure that regulation does not drive big industry abroad…
Poland Balks at EU Carbon Market Reform
Poland is challenging draft carbon market reforms agreed by most European Union governments this week, saying the deal is not-binding because it did not have the full backing of the bloc's 28 nations, the country's environment ministry said on Thursday. Poland does not rule out taking the issue to the European Court of Justice to unravel the legislation, once it is adopted, Environment Ministry spokesman Pawel Mucha told Reuters.
EU Lawmakers Reject Call for Ban on Arctic Oil Exploration
The European Parliament rejected a call to ban Arctic oil and gas exploration on Thursday, in a symbolic vote seen as a barometer for future moves by Brussels to regulate to protect the region. Lawmakers who back the ban, which had drawn the ire of Norway, say the European Union needs a strategy for future developments in a region being transformed by climate change.
Poland Has Begun Ratification of Paris Climate Deal
Poland's president will sign off on the Paris climate deal to curb global warming within days, the country's environment minister said on Friday, boosting an EU push for its adoption ahead of U.N. climate talks in November. EU officials have long worried about Poland dragging its feet, with Warsaw having said it wanted to see how much of the burden of reducing…
EU Backing to tip Paris Climate Deal over Threshold
European Parliament backs accord to fight climate change; Ratification expected to be with U.N. by Friday. The European Parliament backed the Paris accord to fight climate change on Tuesday, tipping it over the threshold needed for the global deal to enter into force, in what U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon hailed as an historic vote. The Paris Agreement, backed by nearly 200 nations nearly one year ago…
Sweden Proposes Measures to Strengthen Carbon Prices
Sweden has proposed measures to strengthen carbon prices from 2020, the country's climate minister told Reuters on Monday, seeking to soak up the glut of credit in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). A European bill to reform the ETS system to make big polluters pay for emissions is being debated by EU lawmakers and member states, but Sweden's climate…
Biofuel Producers Blast EU for Slashing Crop-based Fuel Use
European biofuel producers said a proposal by Brussels to nearly halve the level of crop-based biofuel used in the European Union by 2030 was a U-turn in policy that would threaten jobs and boost animal feed and crude oil imports. The European Commission proposed in a draft law reforming the EU energy market to cap crop-based or so-called first generation…
EU Postpones Carbon Market Reform Vote
Lawmakers still divided on proposed reforms. A vote by European lawmakers on an overhaul of the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) will be postponed until Dec. 15 because major parties remain divided over how far the reforms should go, EU sources said on Monday. The European Parliament's environment committee, which had been due to vote on Thursday, has the lead on reviewing the European Commission's proposal to reform the ETS.
