2024-10-29 11:49

Plans announced during Macron's visit to Morocco Europe's Green Deal calls for more green hydrogen, ammonia TotalEnergies favours Morocco's economics, proximity to Europe PARIS, Oct 29 - French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab will study plans for a renewable energy project to produce hydrogen and ammonia in Morocco for delivery to Europe, which is seeking to increase use of the fuels as part of its energy transition. The agreement was announced late on Monday during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Morocco, as part of a package of deals worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.81 billion) for both countries. The Chbika project would build 1 gigawatt of onshore wind and solar farms near the Atlantic coast in Morocco's Guelmim-Oued Noun region - close to the disputed Western Sahara territory that Morocco claims, with France's support. The Moroccan government agreed to the reservation of land to allow the companies to launch preliminary engineering and design (pre-FEED) studies. Once operational, renewable electricity would be used to extract hydrogen from desalinated seawater, and then to produce 200,000 metric tons of ammonia annually for export to Europe. "This project will constitute the first phase of a development programme aimed at creating a world-scale green hydrogen production hub," Total's statement reads. Renewable ammonia can be used to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of producing fertiliser and has potential as a low-emissions marine fuel. It is also being studied as a chemical carrier to allow the marine shipment of hydrogen because it can be more easily liquefied than hydrogen gas. The European Union's Green Deal to reduce the bloc's carbon emissions calls for the import of 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said the deal was in line with the company strategy to "develop production in countries with the most competitive renewable resources". "Thanks to its geographical proximity ... Morocco indeed has the best assets to become a major partner for Europe in achieving the goals of the Green Deal," Pouyanne added in the statement. TE H2, Total's joint venture with Eren Groupe, alongside Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), will produce the renewable energy for the project and Denmark's A.P. Møller Capital will develop the associated port and infrastructure. ($1 = 0.9253 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/totalenergies-studies-moroccan-project-export-green-ammonia-europe-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 11:46

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Indian consumer goods maker Marico (MRCO.NS) , opens new tab reported second-quarter profit well above market estimates on Tuesday, propped up by price hikes undertaken to offset higher raw material prices. The company reported a near-20% rise in consolidated net profit to 4.23 billion rupees ($50.3 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30. Analysts were expecting a profit of 3.86 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. To offset a 25% year-on-year increase in prices of copra, the main raw material used to produce coconut oil, Marico raised prices of the product in India. The price hikes included a 15% increase in its edible oil segment. "Pricing growth for the sector turned positive on a year-on-year basis as brands effected price increases in response to rising commodity prices," Marico said in a statement. It said its gross margin expanded by 30 basis points from a year earlier as healthy margin improvements more than made up for rise in input costs. Sales volumes of "Parachute" coconut oils - its biggest segment by domestic revenue - rose 4%, while revenue grew 10%. Meanwhile, sales volume of Marico's "Saffola" brand of edible oils were flat year-on-year, while revenue rose 2% due to price hikes. Marico's revenue from operations rose 7.6% to 26.64 billion rupees. The company forecast domestic revenue growth in double digit percentages in the second half of the fiscal year, and said it expects international business to maintain constant currency growth in double-digit percentages. Marico and rival Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS) , opens new tab have posted largely solid results, propped up by demand for cooking oils. This stands in contrast to Nestle India (NEST.NS) , opens new tab, Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS) , opens new tab and ITC (ITC.NS) , opens new tab which reported downbeat earnings due to a slowdown in demand. ($1 = 84.0370 Indian rupees) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-marico-beats-q2-profit-estimates-price-hikes-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 11:30

NAPERVILLE, Illinois, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. winter wheat crop is in much worse shape than industry participants thought, coming as the world’s former breadbasket attempts to claw back export share on the global market. Drought has intensified since mid-year across the United States, but a break could be coming as ample rains are slated for the central portion of the country over the next several days. This suggests wheat’s health struggle could be a shorter-lived issue, but that depends on the coverage and longevity of the weather pattern shift, and how things look closer to spring. As of Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 38% of the country’s winter wheat crop as good or excellent (GE), below all analyst estimates, which averaged 47%. That average is identical to the year-ago conditions. The current rating is modestly below the week’s five-year average of 44% GE, but it is the second-worst for the week in 39 years of records. Winter wheat was rated 28% GE two years ago, representing the 2023 harvest. Yields managed near-average levels in 2023, though there was a big spread among varieties. Fourteen states that predominantly grow soft red winter wheat matched or broke previous yield records. But hard red winter wheat grower Kansas, which accounts for a quarter of the U.S. winter wheat crop, in 2023 had its worst results in a decade. In fact, Kansas’ winter wheat yields have been at least 10% below the long-term trend for the past three seasons due to untimely dry weather. Kansas’ winter wheat this week is rated 38% GE, just 2 percentage points below the five-year average. Major states where conditions are 20 percentage points or more below average include Oklahoma and Montana, but Colorado and Texas are doing slightly better than average. As of last week, some 58% of U.S. winter wheat areas were experiencing drought, the largest portion since early 2023 and up from 49% in the same week a year ago. Places like western Kansas, Colorado and Montana may miss out on the upcoming rains, which could represent nearly a quarter of national production. Longer-term, this year’s La Nina pattern typically features widespread dry conditions throughout the winter in the Southern Plains. That might limit output in hard red wheat states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The inability of soft and hard red states to simultaneously produce bumper yields has recently prevented the United States winter wheat crop from reaching its true potential. The 2016 harvest featured a record yield of 55.3 bushels per acre. Since then, the closest results were 53.6 bpa in 2019 followed by 51.7 in 2024, so a return to favorable weather is exactly what U.S. producers will need to contend for a strong 2025 outcome. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-winter-wheat-health-among-worst-ever-stumping-analysts-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 11:25

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Fireworks set off during celebrations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, could further worsen air quality in the Indian capital this week, officials said on Tuesday, offsetting a reduction in burning of farm waste in nearby states. Rated the world's most polluted capital by Swiss group IQAir for four years in a row, New Delhi was the world's second most polluted city on Tuesday, the group's live rankings showed, after Lahore in neighbouring Pakistan. "The incidents of stubble burning are decreasing, but ... the smoke created by firecrackers needs to be controlled," Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai told news agency ANI, calling for further monitoring of the burning of farm waste. The annual practice of burning crop stubble left after harvesting paddy to clear fields for wheat planting is widely blamed for toxic pollution in the region before winter, causing disruptions such as school closures and construction curbs. But people often flout Delhi's ban on smoke-emitting firecrackers, usually burnt in celebration of the festival which runs from Wednesday to Friday this year, worsening pollution. Delhi's air quality was 273 on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board's index showed, far exceeding a rating below 50 that is considered to be 'good'. From Wednesday to Friday, the index is expected to be in 'very poor' territory from 301 to 400, but may drop to 'severe' in the index range of 401 to 500, fed by fumes from burning firecrackers and waste fires, the earth sciences ministry said. Air quality is likely to be in the very poor to severe category for six days from Saturday, the ministry added. Farm fire incidents have fallen this year, however, the agriculture ministry said, to stand down 35% in Punjab and 21% in Haryana - both breadbasket states - compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Data from the earth sciences ministry showed that stubble burning's contribution to pollution dropped in the last week, to reach barely 3% on Monday from 16% on Wednesday, with greater contributions from other sources, such as vehicles. Last week, the Supreme Court urged authorities in Delhi and adjoining states to tackle the toxic air, saying living in a pollution-free environment was a "fundamental right". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/diwali-fireworks-could-worsen-air-indian-capital-despite-fewer-farm-fires-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 11:24

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Investment in the green energy transition needs to double to $3.5 trillion per year if the world is to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, a report by Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday. On top of the investment gap, the consultancy's analysis said global efforts to shift to cleaner power were under pressure from concerns over energy security, and tariffs and trade barriers that are stunting electrification growth globally. The report said no major country and just a few companies were on track to meet the 2030 climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Strong nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and global cooperation will be crucial to mobilising the $3.5 trillion investment, climate experts say. If such challenges are not overcome, much more money could be needed to fund mitigation and adaptation. BY THE NUMBERS Solar and wind's share of global power supply is expected to reach between 25% and 36% of total power output by 2030, after growing to 17% in 2024 from 4.5% in 2015, the analysis showed. Gas demand is expected to have a wide range of outcomes, with demand rising by 11% in 2050 in the scenario that limits warming to 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), while the net zero scenario would see it decrease by 47% over the same period, the report said. KEY QUOTE "A string of shocks to global markets threaten to derail the progress in a decade pivotal to the energy transition," said Prakash Sharma, vice president, head of scenarios and technologies for Wood Mackenzie. "However, there is still time for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050 – provided decisive action is taken now," he said. CONTEXT Displacing fossil fuels with renewable power sources in electricity generation is a pillar of the energy transition that seeks to meet the Paris Agreement target to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 C (2.7 F). The renewable power supply has risen sharply in recent years to try to achieve goals on cutting emissions, but it is not growing fast enough to push fossil fuels out of the energy mix. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/net-zero-target-needs-35-trillion-annual-green-energy-investment-wood-mackenzie-2024-10-29/

2024-10-29 11:20

Herweijer dropped from top decision-making body New CEO Elhedery says still committed to energy transition Investor Epworth says bank putting profits at any cost LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - HSBC has dropped its chief sustainability officer from its decision-making executive board, the bank confirmed on Tuesday as it released quarterly earnings, sparking concern it could become the latest bank to row back on its climate commitments. As part of a strategic overhaul announced last week, HSBC downsized its 16-person executive committee, with Celine Herweijer, group chief sustainability officer, not named on its new 12-person operating committee, according to the bank's statements at the time. New Chief Executive Georges Elhedery declined to comment on the implications of Herweijer's removal from the bank's senior decision making body when asked directly by Reuters on Tuesday, but said the lender "remains committed to supporting the transition to net zero". Elhedery's comments on the decision came as HSBC reported better than expected third quarter profit and its new CEO embarks on a sweeping overhaul of the business aimed at reducing layers of management and stripping out costs. Herweijer did not respond to a request for comment. However, Andrew Harper, chief responsibility officer at Epworth Investment Management, a specialist investment firm serving UK charities and a shareholder in the bank, said he was concerned it could suggest a weakening of the bank's commitments. "Commitment without action remains cheap talk at HSBC," he said. "Time and time again, we've seen the bank make bold climate claims and then water them down. Removing Celine from the operating committee is just the latest signal of the bank's true intentions - profits at any cost." Climate campaigners argue having a chief sustainability officer on a company's executive committees is essential to ensure decision-making reflects the urgency of the climate crisis and holds institutions to account on their pledges. It is not the first time HSBC's climate credentials have been called into question by investors. After a campaign by non-profit ShareAction and institutional investors, HSBC committed in 2022 to stop financing new oil and gas fields. In January, HSBC unveiled its first net-zero transition plan as part of its commitment to reach the target by 2050, laying out its plans to help the bank's heaviest-emitting clients decarbonise their businesses. Banks have pledged to spend trillions of dollars in an effort to help cap global warming but some of the biggest are saying that without clear policy direction from governments, it will be challenging to meet the goal. Wall Street lender Morgan Stanley last week said it had lowered its expectations for cutting emissions from its corporate lending portfolio as the world is moving too slowly to a greener economy. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/hsbc-drops-sustainability-chief-executive-committee-2024-10-29/