2025-03-05 12:44

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it would stick to its target that by 2035 all new cars and vans sold in the European Union would have zero CO2 emissions, as well as keeping its intermediate target for 2030. "We stick to the 2035 targets, which means that we stick to the 2025, 2030 and, of course, the 2035 targets," Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tsitsikostas told a press conference. The EU executive on Monday had announced that European car makers would get three years, rather than only one, to meet new 2025 emission targets. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-sticks-2035-zero-emissions-target-new-cars-2025-03-05/

2025-03-05 12:43

DAKAR, March 5 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it had detected low-rate subsea gas bubbles at a well in its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, situated offshore between Mauritania and Senegal. The British multinational oil and gas firm anticipates the environmental impact from the leak to be negligible and added that the incident will not disrupt production activities. " We have a plan to stop the bubbles, as part of that plan we have mobilised specialised equipment and personnel to support the rectification efforts," the company told Reuters via email. The project developed by BP and U.S.-listed Kosmos Energy (KOS.N) , opens new tab produced its first gas at the start of the year. GTA, a floating facility straddling the maritime border between the two countries, are expected to produce 2.3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year in its first phase. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bp-says-gas-bubbles-discovered-senegal-mauritania-gta-project-2025-03-05/

2025-03-05 12:28

March 5 (Reuters) - The European Union will make 1.8 billion euros ($1.92 billion)available to help secure supply chains for battery raw materials, the EU Commission said on Wednesday. The Commission late last year already said it would partner with the European Investment Bank to support investments in the EU's battery manufacturing sector. ($1 = 0.9351 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/eu-earmarks-18-bln-euros-battery-raw-materials-supply-chain-2025-03-05/

2025-03-05 12:24

FRANKFURT, March 5 (Reuters) - Germany's nuclear engineering lobby on Wednesday said up to half a dozen nuclear power stations could in theory be reopened despite closing in 2023 as a result of Berlin's decision to exit nuclear power, as the next government looks to secure cheaper energy. Germany's conservatives, winners of the February election, said resuming nuclear power generation was an option to tackle high power prices and rising dependency on electricity imports, most notably from nuclear-reliant France. The operators of the nuclear plants said, however, their closure was final. Members of the nuclear technology lobby group include subsidiaries of Westinghouse and Framatome as well as part-German owned nuclear engineering services company Nukem (RWEG.DE) , opens new tab(EONGn.DE) , opens new tab. "The recommissioning of up to six nuclear power plants is technically possible...The quicker the decision is made, the less money it costs and the sooner the baseload-securing, climate-friendly plants can rejoin the grid," the KernD group said in a statement. Investment of between 1 and 3 billion euros ($1.07-3.21 billion) per station could pay for recommissioning, it added. The statement came a day after the German parties hoping to form the country's next government agreed to create a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund and overhaul borrowing rules in a tectonic spending shift to revamp the military and revive growth in Europe's largest economy. KernD said the operational costs of existing nuclear assets to be reopened would be competitive and the plants worked independently of the weather. Renewable power output was reduced for weeks last year due to adverse weather. Germany also aims to phase out coal burning in coming years. "Artificial intelligence, data centers and high tech companies need masses of power, and Germany could deliver," KernD said. Operators of Germany's closed reactors have ruled out reopening them. Leonhard Birnbaum, chief executive of E.ON (EONGn.DE) , opens new tab, last week said it was unfeasible, stressing decommissioning was in full swing. Sector peers such as RWE (RWEG.DE) , opens new tab and EnBW (EBKG.DE) , opens new tab have also cited high costs, lacking availability of staff and fuels and regulatory gaps as hindrances. ($1 = 0.9348 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-nuclear-lobby-says-up-six-reactors-could-restart-2025-03-05/

2025-03-05 12:21

Mass protests over lack of accountability for 2023 disaster paralysed Greece last week Opposition accuses government of failing to take responsibility Government denies wrongdoing, plans railway overhaul by 2027 Judicial investigation into crash expected to conclude this year Clashes erupt after rally outside parliament ATHENS, March 5 (Reuters) - Greece's centre-right government faces a no-confidence vote this week over a deadly 2023 train disaster, days after protesters brought the country to a standstill to press their demands for political accountability. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Friday to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst rail crash, demanding justice for the victims. Fifty-seven people, most of them students, were killed in the disaster. Lawmakers from the main opposition, the centre-left PASOK party, and from leftist parties submitted a censure motion against Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government during a parliamentary debate on the disaster on Wednesday. They said the government has lost its popular mandate since some of the biggest protests in Greece for years, accusing it of shirking responsibility over the crash and failing to fix critical safety gaps and covering up evidence. "Being aware of our duty towards society and history and towards the Greek people ... we submit a motion of no-confidence against the government," said the document signed by 85 lawmakers. The government has denied any wrongdoing and, with 156 seats in the 300-seat parliament, is expected to survive the motion. The vote will be held on Friday afternoon. Addressing parliament earlier on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said the allegations by opposition parties threatened domestic political stability during turbulent international times. "It would be fatal if stability in Greece was threatened at this point," he said, adding that his government would modernise by 2027 the railway network, which is operated by a state-run company, and would hire a foreign company to take over its maintenance. For many Greeks the accident has become a painful emblem of the perceived neglect of infrastructure for decades before the crash and two years since. On Wednesday evening, thousands of people rallied peacefully outside parliament and held a moment of silence to honour the victims. Some of the demonstrators released lanterns into the air and lit candles shaped like the number "57" on the ground. Later, clashes broke out between police and a group of protesters. Police responded with several rounds of teargas to disperse them and violence spread in other areas of Athens. More protests are scheduled this week, meant to coincide with the no-confidence vote. On Tuesday, a majority of 277 lawmakers voted to set up a committee to investigate how a former minister handled the aftermath of the crash and a potential breach of duty. Christos Triantopoulos, who was minister for state aid at the time of the crash, has denied any wrongdoing. On Tuesday, he resigned from his post as deputy civil protection minister to support the inquiry by parliament, the only Greek body that can lift politicians' immunity and probe them. A judicial investigation into the crash is expected to be completed later this year. Relatives of the victims have criticized the government, which won re-election after the crash, for not initiating or backing a parliamentary inquiry into political responsibility. They say the authorities tried to cover up evidence by laying down gravel at the scene soon after the crash. Triantopoulos, who went to the crash site shortly after the incident, has dismissed the allegations as groundless. The Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority (HARSIA), an independent agency set up hastily after the crash, reported last week that the disaster had been caused by chronic safety shortfalls that still need to be addressed to prevent a repeat. Christos Papadimitriou, head of HARSIA's rail division, told the Kathimerini newspaper on Sunday that authorities' ignorance and lack of experience were possible reasons for the loss of significant evidence from the scene. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greek-minister-faces-probe-into-handling-deadly-train-crash-after-violent-2025-03-05/

2025-03-05 12:16

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Britain will invest 55.7 million pounds ($71.45 million) in the Port of Cromarty Firth in Scotland to expand the facility to become a hub for floating offshore wind, the government said on Wednesday. Britain has a target to largely decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030 which will require a huge ramp up in renewable power like offshore wind. Using floating turbines, that are not fixed to the seabed like traditional wind farms, allows the projects to be much deeper out at sea, making them less visible to communities that might object and where wind speeds are likely to be stronger. Currently technology costs for floating wind projects are higher than for fixed turbines while few ports have the capacity to host the huge structures. "This initial financial backing from the UK government paves the way for the port to secure match-funding from other investors, with the port expected to become operational by the start of 2028," a statement from The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said. ($1 = 0.7795 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-invest-71-million-scottish-port-offshore-wind-expansion-2025-03-05/