Russell: COP30 agreement is not important in the battle between renewables and fossil fuels.
It was not realistic to expect anything better from the COP30 Climate Summit than a weak statement that omitted all mention of fossil fuels. It was never going to be easy to bring nearly 200 countries together with vastly different perspectives and make a statement of commitment to fight climate change. After the Belem summit, the question that needs to be asked is, does what the final statement says and doesn't state, really matter?
U.S. Companies hold their line in climate talks despite Trump
Despite the U.S. Government's deterioration on climate change ahead of the COP30 Summit, American companies didn't shy away. According to an analysis of the attendance lists, there were 60 Fortune 100 representatives at this year's event in Brazil, as opposed to 50 last year at Baku, Azerbaijan. Others attended pre-conferences in Brazil's financial hub Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. On a U.N. provisional list of summit attendees, Microsoft, Google, Occidental Petroleum and General Motors were all represented.
Russell: COP30 agreement is not important in the battle between renewables and fossil fuels.
It was not realistic to expect anything better from the COP30 Climate Summit than a weak statement that omitted all mention of fossil fuels. It was never going to be easy to bring nearly 200 countries together with vastly different perspectives and make a statement of commitment to fight climate change. After the Belem summit, the question that needs to be asked is, does what the final statement says and doesn't state, really matter?
China's electricity consumption in October is up 10.4% due to a surge in household power usage
The energy regulator reported that China's power consumption in October was up 10.4% compared to the same period last year. This increase is attributed to a surge in consumption by households, industries such as information technology, and consumers who charge and swap batteries. In a Wechat posting, the National Energy Administration (NEA), said that October's power consumption totaled 857.2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh). The fastest growth in consumption was seen by urban and rural households, with a 23.9% increase on the previous year.
INSIGHT- West scrambles fill the heavy rare earth gap, as China rivalry intensifies
Western efforts to create a domestic magnets supply chain in order to reduce their reliance on China, led by the massive U.S. support for Nevada-based MP Materials, are running into a major problem: a scarcity of heavy rare earth elements. United States and its allies are scrambling to find an alternative supply chain for super-strong rare earth magnetic components, which are essential in everything from electric vehicles and defence technology to electronics and windmills.
Elon Musk, Jensen Huang to talk AI at US-Saudi investment forum
According to a document that was seen by us, Elon Musk of Tesla and Jensen Huang of Nvidia will be taking part in a panel discussion about artificial intelligence and technology on Wednesday at the U.S. Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Washington. The document stated that "This conversation will examine the emerging forces shaping a new wave of technological advancement, highlighting architectures, models and investments driving a more…
South Korea joins Stargate AI Data Centre Project in UAE
Seoul announced on Tuesday that South Korea had agreed to collaborate with the United Arab Emirates to build an artificial intelligence data campus, a project backed by the United States. South Korea announced that it would help build the computing power and energy infrastructure of the largest AI data centre outside the United States after South Korean president Lee Jae Myung met with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. South Korea…
Australian shares are on the rise as sectoral strength offsets the banking slump
Australian shares traded within a narrow range Wednesday as investors held back their risk appetite due to waning expectations for additional monetary policy ease. S&P/ASX 200 index remained at 8,474.50 as of 2320 GMT but is still down about 7% from its all-time high reached on October 21. The benchmark index ended Tuesday at a low of five months. Since the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates constant earlier this month, the main index has been in a downward trend.
Source: CEOs of Chevron Qualcomm and Pfizer will attend US-Saudi event.
According to a source with knowledge of the event, CEOs from Chevron and Qualcomm will be attending the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Washington this week, during the visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Bin Salman is expected to highlight the increasing business ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States during his first visit to the U.S. in 2018. The event will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 19.
Siemens Healthineers CEO: We could sell diagnostics division by 2030
Siemens Healthineers has yet to speak with any potential buyers but is considering spinning off or divesting its diagnostics division after restructuring it by 2030. The CEO Bernd Montag said that it was possible that the Diagnostics Business would no longer be a part of the Medical Technology Group in 2030, if this is deemed to be better for the Division. This was stated at a Monday press conference on the sidelines its Capital Markets Day.
Energy Transition' Future: Fractured, Bumpy and Long
As COP30 kicks off its second week in Brazil, much has changed since the landmark Paris climate agreement was penned 10 years ago.The spirit of cooperation that once reigned has been shattered by economic rivalries and a stark divergence in climate policies among the world’s biggest polluters.The landmark UN COP21 climate agreement signed in Paris on December 12, 2015 saw 195 nations commit to setting binding targets to reduce greenhouse…
As yttrium shortages grow, a new rare earth crisis is on the horizon
Due to Chinese export restrictions on yttrium, global supplies are in short supply. This has led to fears of shortages, and a rise in costs, which could affect aerospace, energy, and semiconductor production. In April, China, which is the primary source of this element, used in coatings that protect against high temperatures and in alloys for engines, limited exports, along with six others rare earths, in response to U.S. duties. The dispute is not fully resolved despite the high-stakes summit between U.S.
COP30: Brazil seeks biofuel boom, but critics query climate impact
Timothy Searchinger is a senior research scholar from Princeton University. He said that when land produces fuel instead of food someone else will have to clear more land or eat less. Biofuels are counted at zero, so countries believe that they have cut emissions. He said that in reality, the pressure is shifted onto food and land systems. India has already shown signs of this pressure. It has increased the percentage ethanol in petrol, and saved $12 billion on oil imports over the last decade.
Germany reduces plans for new gas-powered generation as part of the decarbonisation compromise
Germany has reduced the amount of gas fired power capacity that it plans to develop, to about 10 gigawatts. This is half of what was planned at the beginning of the year. The goal is to strike a balanced between decarbonisation, and supporting intermittent renewables. Friedrich Merz, the conservative Chancellor and his Social Democrat coalition partner reached a decision late Thursday night. It was a compromise that sought to satisfy…
Siemens Energy will pay dividends for 2025 and raises the mid-term outlook
Siemens Energy announced on Thursday it will pay its first dividend for four years, and has also raised its outlook mid-term due to strong demand in gas turbines and transmission technology. Christian Bruch, CEO of the company's wind-turbine division, said that the success "was hard-earned" and not a result of chance. He was referring to the years of cost cutting and restructuring in response to a quality crisis. Siemens Energy has recommended a dividend payout of 0.70 euros per share ($0.82) for the fiscal period that ended in September.
Wall Street falls as Nvidia slides and investors worry that Fed could slow rate cuts
Wall Street finished sharply lower Thursday with Nvidia, and other AI heavyweights as investors scaled down expectations of rate cuts due inflation concerns and disagreements among central banks about the U.S. economic health. After a 43-day record shutdown, which had caused investors to worry and disrupted economic data flow, the U.S. Government reopened. In recent days, a growing number of Federal Reserve officials have expressed reluctance about further rate cuts.
Wall Street falls as investors worry about rate cuts
Wall Street fell on Thursday with Nvidia, and other AI heavyweights suffering steep losses as investors scaled down expectations of rate cuts because of inflation concerns and disagreements among central banks about the U.S. economic health. The U.S. After a 43-day record shutdown which had alarmed investors and disrupted economic data flow. Federal Reserve policymakers have in recent days shown hesitation in reducing interest rates further.
Chevron aims to increase cash flow by 10% annually through 2030 and cut costs even more.
Chevron announced on Wednesday its plans to increase oil and gas production and grow free cash flow annually by more than 10 percent through 2030, all while reducing costs and capital spending. Chevron announced its new guidance on Wednesday at their investor day. The company has been working to improve efficiency following a restructuring that took place earlier this year, which included the layoff of up to 20 percent of employees or approximately 8,000 people.
RWE Reports Near 15-Year High Boosted by Data Center Sale
RWE, Germany's largest power producer, reported higher-than-expected profit for the first nine months of the year, boosted by a 225 million euro ($262 million) book gain on the sale of a data centre project to a large unnamed cloud service provider.Shares in RWE, which is also the world's second-biggest developer of offshore wind projects, rose as much as 7% to their highest level since March 2011. They were last trading 6.7% up.The sale of the facility…
Made in Nigeria: Africa's drive to become a solar superpower
In pink overalls they pack the tested products to be shipped from the Salpha Energy solar assembly plant near Calabar, West Africa. It's not happening at home anymore. Salpha Energy, which began in 2017, has produced solar power systems for over two million Nigerian households and businesses. It aims to produce up to 300,000. Salpha Energy is part and parcel of the green leadership that Africans attending the U.N. COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil want to promote and showcase.