2026-02-02 18:29

Feb 2 (Reuters) - A global recycling industry body on Monday said the European Commission's proposed restrictions on scrap aluminium exports were unnecessary and risked undermining the circular economy. The Commission said in November it planned to restrict exports of scrap aluminium to stop the metal flooding out of the European Union and leaving its industry short. Sign up here. The move was welcomed by aluminium lobby European Aluminium, which urged policymakers to introduce export fees on the material. However, the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling, which represents 37 national recycling federations, described the idea of an EU export ban or any trade restriction on aluminium scrap as "neither necessary nor effective". "The EU already generates more aluminium scrap than can be absorbed domestically," the BIR said in its feedback to the EU's public consultation on the matter, which was open until the end of January. Available data "does not demonstrate structural 'scrap leakage' that would justify intervention", it said. Scrap leakage refers to the loss of recyclable materials - a valuable and much lower-carbon resource than primary metal - to foreign markets. Restricting exports would create oversupply in the EU, lower scrap prices and leave recyclers in an unsustainable economic position, the BIR said. "This would ultimately reduce collection and recycling rates, increase the risk of unmanaged waste streams, and undermine the circular economy," it added. The Commission has said it will propose targeted measures for aluminium scrap by the second quarter of this year. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/recycling-body-opposes-eu-scrap-aluminium-export-curbs-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 18:26

Winter freeze reduced US LNG exports in January Trinidad imports helped offset US LNG output drop Europe increased US LNG purchases amid Russian gas phase-out HOUSTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Exports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. fell in January to 11.3 million metric tonnes - down from December's record of 11.5 MT - as a winter freeze late in the month shuttered some plants and lowered output at others, preliminary data from financial firm LSEG show. Gas flows into U.S. LNG plants fell to a one-year low on January 26. Freeport LNG in Texas, the third-largest exporter in the country, was partly offline during the freeze, while Kinder Morgan's (KMI.N) , opens new tab Elba Island facility in Georgia imported LNG from Trinidad and Tobago after it stopped taking in feedgas during the week of the freeze. Sign up here. Spot gas prices soared in several regions across the U.S. to all-time highs in the last week of January as demand for the fuel rose to near-record levels while output dropped to a two-year low with some oil and gas wells freezing shut. Appearing to take advantage of that high-price opportunity, LNG companies sent cargoes to the Elba Island LNG terminal in Georgia, Cove Point in Maryland, Everett in Massachusetts and Canaport in New Brunswick, according to LSEG data. Everett and Canaport are import terminals, but it is unusual to send cargoes to Elba Island and Cove Point, which generally export gas from the U.S. to the rest of the world. The U.S., which is now the world's largest LNG exporter, usually imports around three cargoes a year from Trinidad to Everett because of pipeline infrastructure challenges in New England. EUROPE INCREASES LNG PURCHASES FROM U.S. Prior to the winter storm, the U.S. had been on course to set another monthly record as mild weather in the earlier part of the month and full production from the country's two largest LNG plants set daily feedgas records. In keeping with its plan to phase out Russian gas - and with arbitrage in its favor - Europe increased its purchases of U.S. LNG, buying 9.46 MT, or 83% of total American exports, in January, LSEG data showed. The U.S. accounted for 60% of total European LNG purchases in January, an increase from both last month and January 2025, when the U.S. supplied 53% of European Union imports. That trend is expected to continue in 2026. Natural gas prices in January favored U.S. sales to Europe, averaging $11.81 per million British thermal units at the European Title Transfer Facility in the Netherlands and $10.43 on the Japan Korea Marker benchmark in Asia. Last month, U.S. LNG exports to Asia fell to 690,000 tonnes - around 6% of total U.S. LNG exports - compared to 1.23 MT in December 2025. U.S. exports of LNG to Latin America increased slightly to 490,000 tonnes, the preliminary data showed. Egypt continued its purchases of U.S. LNG, buying 500,000 tonnes in January. There were 210,000 tonnes on the water as the month ended, having left U.S. LNG plants but showing they were open for orders. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/winter-freeze-cut-us-lng-output-january-imports-trinidad-helped-fill-gap-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 18:22

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday cleared Denmark's Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab to resume work on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York, which President Donald Trump's administration halted along with four other projects in December. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert in Washington is the latest in a string of legal setbacks for Trump's offshore wind policy. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-judge-allows-orsted-resume-building-new-york-offshore-wind-project-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 18:15

Bostic believes Fed should not cut interest rates this year Warsh picked by Trump in part for his support of lower rates Fed voted 10-2 last week to maintain current borrowing costs Feb 2 (Reuters) - Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next Federal Reserve chief, faces a "tall task" in leading the U.S. central bank, particularly if he aims to convince the members of the policy-setting committee to go along with him on monetary policy decisions, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday. Bostic, who will close out eight and a half years as the head of the Atlanta Fed at the end of this month, said he believes the central bank should not cut rates at all this year, a view that several of his colleagues also share. Trump said he picked Warsh in part because he agrees with the president that borrowing costs should be lower. Sign up here. "If you want to have policy enacted or go in a direction that you want, you've got to convince them to go along, and in order to do that, you've got to build a relationship with them," Bostic said at a Rotary Club of Atlanta event. "You have to build their trust. You have to show your wisdom and guidance. And those things don't happen overnight. And so it's just a huge undertaking." Fed policymakers last week voted 10-2 to keep the central bank's benchmark interest rate in the current 3.50%-3.75% range, and signaled they are in no rush to reduce it. With the economy as strong as it is and the labor market now stabilized, cutting rates "would make it very unlikely, if we did that, for us to get our inflation back down to our target or even get it on a trajectory to that," Bostic said. "So I think this is the time to be patient." Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has been consistently in Trump's crosshairs for not cutting rates as much and as fast as the president has wanted, will end his term as central bank chief in mid-May. https://www.reuters.com/world/warsh-face-tall-task-fed-chair-bostic-says-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 18:14

PRAGUE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to revamp its carbon emissions trading schemes to cut energy prices, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in a letter to EU peers and institutions released on Monday, seeking backing ahead of next week's competitiveness meeting. The EU should cap the cost of emissions allowances under its Emissions Trading System and delay the introduction of its second phase, Babis said in the letter addressed to the heads of the European Commission and European Council, as well as the leaders of the bloc's other 26 member states. Sign up here. Speaking at a news conference, Babis said he would lobby for support among fellow EU leaders, including France and Italy, ahead of the bloc's informal summit on February 12. He said allowance prices had been forecast in previous years to be far lower than current levels, putting a heavy strain on European industry. It was necessary to cap the cost of allowances "in order to prevent excessive price increases and the relocation of industry from Europe," the letter said. Many factors contribute to Europe's high energy prices, including fuel prices, underinvestment in grids and national taxes. The EU carbon market is the bloc's main tool to reduce CO2 emissions - charging industries and power plants for every ton of carbon they produce to encourage cleaner production and investment in low-carbon technologies. Launched in 2005, the scheme returns part of its revenue to national governments, with the rest channelled into EU funds supporting low-carbon projects. EU carbon prices were trading at around 81 euros per metric ton of CO2 on Monday, after briefly hitting 90 euros in mid-January. Babis also called for delaying the rollout of the ETS for buildings and transport — known as ETS2 — until at least 2030, after the EU had already agreed to postpone its launch to 2028 from 2027. Countries including Poland have long argued that EU carbon prices are too high and have urged Brussels to intervene to curb rises they say are driven by financial speculation rather than genuine demand from emitting industries. Other EU countries, however, see a strong carbon price as essential to meeting climate targets, arguing that higher costs for carbon permits increase incentives to invest in low-carbon technologies and shift to cleaner fuels. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/czech-leader-urges-eu-overhaul-carbon-trading-schemes-curb-energy-costs-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 17:13

RABAT, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Morocco has evacuated more than 50,000 people, nearly half the population of the northwestern city of Ksar el-Kebir, as flooding driven by weeks of heavy rain threatened to inundate the city, state media said on Monday. "The city has become a ghost town," local resident Hicham Ajttou told Reuters by phone. "All markets and shops are closed and most residents have either left voluntarily or been evacuated." Sign up here. Authorities set up shelters and temporary camps and barred entry into Ksar el-Kebir as rising water levels in the Loukkos River spread across several neighbourhoods. Only departures from the city were permitted, while electricity was cut in parts of it and schools were ordered to remain closed until Saturday. Officials said the floods were partly triggered by water released from the nearby Oued Makhazine dam, which had reached full capacity. Ksar el-Kebir lies about 190 km (120 miles) north of Rabat. Ajttou said he moved his family to Tangier last week and returned to Ksar el-Kebir to volunteer in relief efforts. "The question that worries us is what comes next. The dam is full and we don't know how long this situation will last," he said. The army has deployed rescue units, trucks, equipment and medics to support evacuation and rescue operations and buses evacuated people from the city. State TV Al Oula showed a helicopter rescuing four people trapped by rising waters in Oued Ouargha in the nearby province of Ouezzane. Further south, rising levels of the Sebou River prompted authorities to evacuate several villagers in Sidi Kacem and reinforce riverbanks with sandbags and barriers. The heavy rainfall has brought an end to a seven‑year drought that pushed Morocco to invest heavily in desalination plants. The national dam-filling rate is now close to 62%, with several major reservoirs reaching full capacity, according to official data. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/morocco-evacuates-50000-flooding-threatens-city-after-weeks-heavy-rain-2026-02-02/