The U.S. paper and pulp industry is lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to ask the EU to declare the United States deforestation-free, a step that could make it easier for exporters to meet the bloc’s new environmental rules. From December, the European Union’s anti-deforestation policy will ban imports of commodities linked to forest destruction. Brussels already delayed the...
India and France sign SMR and AMR partnership letter of intent
French President Emmanuel Macron and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed a Declaration of Intent for establishing a partnership on advanced modular reactors and small modular reactors after talks in France. They also visited the multinational ITER nuclear fusion project. As well as the declaration of intent, the two renewed a memorandum of understanding...
On Chile’s coast, a rare earths mining operation seeks to uplift locals and counter China
While the hilltop overlook here boasts a splendid view of the Pacific coast, the land all around us is far less impressive. Municipal garbage trucks rumble along gravel roads to an adjacent landfill. Stumps and branches of dead eucalyptus trees form huge piles, refuse left behind by a former commercial forestry operation. Aclara Resources, the...
Bipartisan groups in Congress introduce bill to protect strategic petroleum reserve
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill to limit, not prohibit, the sale of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The Banning SPR Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act was filed in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, John Fetterman, D-Penn., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. U.S. Reps. Chrissy...
Beer, not tariffs, will boost US aluminum capacity
If in doubt, double down. Seven years ago President Donald Trump ordered 10% tariffs on US imports of aluminum with the stated aim of increasing domestic primary metal production. They haven’t worked. This time the tariff is going to be 25% without “exceptions or exemptions” effective March 4. Together with a similar-sized duty on steel imports,...
Baltic countries sever final power ties with Russia
Europe’s Baltic nations have cut themselves off from the Russian electricity grid for the first time in history, ending a precarious, decades-long energy partnership with Moscow. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will connect to the EU’s power system on Sunday, roughly 20 years after joining the bloc and cementing a westward trajectory. The Soviet-designed network will still...
China launches limited tariffs after Trump imposes sweeping new levies
China imposed targeted tariffs on American imports on Tuesday and put several U.S. companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions, in a measured response to the sweeping duties on Chinese imports imposed by President Donald Trump. Beijing’s limited reply to Trump’s imposition of a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports underscored the attempt by Chinese policymakers to...
Shut-down Iowa nuclear plant could come back online by 2028
The decommissioned Duane Arnold nuclear plant in eastern Iowa is inching closer to a restart as NextEra Energy has asked for a licensing change for the facility. A representative for the renewable energy company confirmed to Bloomberg that it filed a request with federal regulators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday, marking the first step toward bringing the plant back online. In an...
Poland and Canada sign nuclear power cooperation agreement
Poland and Canada have signed an agreement that provides a legal framework for more intensive cooperation on nuclear power, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday after meeting his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. Poland, which is working to reduce its reliance on coal, has chosen Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear plant on...
Germany May Need to Keep Reserve Coal Plants Longer Than Planned
Germany may need to keep its fleet of mothballed coal-fired stations available for longer than expected as a drive to build new gas plants is severely behind schedule, grid operator Amprion GmbH warned. After Europe’s biggest economy shut its last nuclear plant in 2023, its power generation margin has shrunk. The coal plants are there to help...