2025-09-26 23:10

China says EU criticism of its emissions targets is hypocritical EU climate chief says China's climate ambition 'disappointing' Beijing accuses EU of being slow in its own climate action BEIJING, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The EU climate chief's criticism of China's new climate pledges shows "double standards and selective blindness," China's foreign ministry said on Friday, accusing the bloc of being slow to act on its own climate targets. China earlier this week pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 7% and 10% by 2035 from the peak as part of its new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets. The European Union's Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra called the target "clearly disappointing". Sign up here. A day earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump described climate change as "the greatest con job" in an address to the United Nations General Assembly, a statement the Chinese foreign ministry appeared to allude to without addressing directly. "Some people turn a deaf ear and remain silent when hearing claims like 'climate change is a hoax,' but instead ignore and make irresponsible comments about China's responsible and proactive actions to address climate change," a spokesperson for the ministry said in a written response to Hoekstra's comment. Hoekstra said China's new climate plan fell "well short of what we believe is both achievable and necessary". He also called the United States's climate approach "concerning and problematic", the New York Times reported on Wednesday. CHINA CALLS FOR MORE COOPERATION "Such rhetoric disrupts global solidarity in addressing climate change and undermines the atmosphere of cooperation —that is what is truly 'disappointing'," said the statement sent to Reuters. NDCs are non-binding national climate plans that should be submitted every five years to the UN as part of the Paris Agreement, a 2015 pact aiming to keep global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. The United States, the second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter after China, submitted its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for a second time after Trump took office in January. The EU has not announced its new climate plan, months after an initial February deadline, although it had agreed to set a target for cutting emissions by somewhere between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035 from 1990 levels. In its statement, China's foreign ministry called on the EU to change what it said was its habit of talking loud but acting small. The ministry also said China was the country with "the most resolute will, the most forceful actions and the most effective implementation of its emission reduction commitments". China's new climate targets mark the first time it pledged to reduce emissions, but the pledged reduction rate was far less than the 30% cut by 2035 that some scientists had said was needed to align China with the globally-agreed goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The European Commission said in October that the EU's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.3% in 2023 compared with the previous year, and were 37% down from 1990 levels versus a 68% GDP growth. (This story has been corrected to fix the reporting credit line) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/china-calls-eu-hypocritical-over-criticism-climate-goal-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 21:41

SEVASTOPOL, Crimea, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A long queue of cars outside a petrol station in Sevastopol, a port city in Russian-controlled Crimea, laid bare the challenges drivers across Russia are facing in a widening gasoline crisis. As Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian refineries and export terminals in recent weeks, motorists are feeling the bite. Sign up here. One man, Alexander Semin, told Reuters he had waited for 40 minutes to fill his tank in Sevastopol the previous day, although he said he was "not panicking." Shortages of fuel and disruptions to gasoline supplies have been reported for more than a month in more than 10 regions across Russia, the Izvestia newspaper reported, citing a fuel producers' union. Sergei Aksyonov, the head of Crimea, acknowledged the problem in a video message on Thursday but assured motorists that gasoline stations would be fully supplied with all types of fuel within two weeks. Thousands of kilometres north of Crimea, in the historic city of Nizhny Novgorod along the Volga river, locals were experiencing similar problems. "At both gas stations, there was no 92 or 95 petrol," a taxi driver who gave his name only as Alexei said. "Later it appeared and then disappeared again." The local governor in the region east of Moscow said this week the disruptions were related to issues down the supply chain and reassured the public that the problems would be solved soon. Back in Crimea, some drivers like Alexei Zlobin said the situation of shortages required some creativity. "If you're having trouble with petrol, just take a trolley", he offered. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-fuel-crisis-causes-long-queues-headaches-motorists-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 21:12

Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Nuclear Company said on Friday that it has signed a strategic agreement with U.S. steelmaker Nucor Corporation (NUE.N) , opens new tab to boost the country's nuclear power supply chain and support domestic manufacturing. TNC , opens new tab, a U.S. nuclear deployment company, said the companies will assess the use of NQA-1 steel and related infrastructure for gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors as per the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' certification standards. Sign up here. The partnership supports executive orders , opens new tab from President Donald Trump targeting 400 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2050, including construction of 10 large-scale reactors in the next five years, TNC said. The U.S. has launched an effort to speed development of power plants and transmission lines after Trump on his first day back in office in January issued an order declaring an energy emergency as artificial intelligence, data centers, and electric vehicles are boosting power demand for the first time in two decades. TNC's partnership also aims to help the U.S. compete with China and Russia, which have expanded their nuclear reactor fleets rapidly in recent years, it said. "Our partnership with Nucor will protect America's national security, help achieve energy independence and create a more resilient economy," said TNC CEO Jonathan Webb. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nuclear-company-announces-partnership-with-nucor-boost-us-nuclear-power-supply-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 21:00

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Potential tropical cyclone nine formed in the Atlantic and is s expected to track across the central and northwestern Bahamas this weekend and approach the southeast U.S. coast early next week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was located about 200 miles (325 km) south south east of the Central Bahamas, packing maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (55 km/hour). Sign up here. The government has issued tropical storm warnings and watches for portions of the Bahamas. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/potential-tropical-cyclone-nine-forms-atlantic-nhc-says-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 20:59

NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The risk that pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump could shift the Federal Reserve to an overly dovish stance is the main near-term concern for the U.S. dollar, said a senior executive at U.S. asset manager PGIM Fixed Income. Trump has relentlessly criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the U.S. central bank's Board of Governors for not lowering rates sufficiently. This has investors concerned that political pressure could influence monetary policy. Sign up here. The dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab is already down about 9.5% this year against a basket of major currencies. Trump's attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and the appointment of his economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed's seven-member board, have recently exacerbated worries that the Fed could ease too aggressively and let inflation off the leash. "We do worry quite a bit about an abruptly dovish shift in the Fed's reaction function going into next year," said Daleep Singh, vice chair and chief global economist at PGIM Fixed Income, a New Jersey-based firm with nearly $900 billion in assets under management. He was speaking at a dollar conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. While the U.S. central bank, which last week cut rates for the first time since December, is expected to continue to lower borrowing costs gradually over the coming months, the picture could change after Powell's mandate as Fed Chair ends in May next year, said Singh, who previously served as deputy national security advisor for international economics in the Joe Biden administration. "There's a very decent chance that the FOMC looks and acts quite differently," he said. Easy monetary policy, along loose fiscal policy and upward pressures on inflation, would be negative for the dollar, he said, particularly given that central banks in other major economies are at different stages of their monetary policy cycles and are unlikely to mimic the Fed's dovish shift. "On a cyclical basis, I think the risks to the dollar are skewed to the downside," he added. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-dollar-risk-if-trump-can-sway-fed-more-dovish-stance-says-pgim-exec-2025-09-26/

2025-09-26 20:57

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange Kraken is in advanced talks to secure fresh funding that could value the company at about $20 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The funding would include a commitment of $200 million to $300 million from a strategic investor, the report said, citing a person familiar with the discussions. Sign up here. A spokesperson for Kraken declined to comment on the report. The deal, which is subject to market conditions, would follow the company's $500 million fundraising round at a $15 billion valuation earlier this year, the report added. Investor interest in cryptocurrency firms has been rising as the asset class benefits from clearer regulations and broader institutional adoption. This trend has pushed some crypto firms to go public, including stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab, blockchain lender Figure (FIGR.O) , opens new tab and crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH.N) , opens new tab, all of which were well received during their market debuts. Kraken, founded in 2011, is a major global crypto exchange offering spot, margin and derivatives trading. It supports more than 200 assets, eight fiat currencies, and serves over nine million traders and institutions worldwide, according to its website. In March, Kraken said it would acquire retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader in a $1.5 billion deal. https://www.reuters.com/business/kraken-talks-raise-funds-20-billion-valuation-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-26/