2024-02-27 12:37

EU Parliament approves contentious nature policy Law survives last-minute attempt to scrap it Farmers' protests pressure EU over green policies BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The European Parliament approved a flagship law to restore nature on Tuesday, salvaging at least part of EU plans to protect the environment after farmers' protests ignited a backlash. The vote took place after weeks of farmers' protests across Europe, including a violent demonstration on Monday outside the European Union's headquarters in Brussels. Among the protesters' complaints are EU green policies that they say impose excessive bureaucracy on farmers. EU lawmakers adopted the law with 329 votes in favour, 275 against and 24 abstentions. It passed despite the European People's Party lawmaker group deciding at the last minute to oppose the law, arguing it would subject farmers to more red tape. The nature law is one of the EU's biggest pieces of environmental legislation, requiring countries to introduce measures restoring nature on a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said the policy was the EU's "concrete contribution to preserve biodiversity, precious ecosystems, healthy soils and waters - first and foremost, for our farmers". It aims to reverse the decline of Europe's natural habitats - 81% of which are classed as being in poor health - and includes specific targets, for example to restore peatlands so they can absorb CO2 emissions. Still, the final policy is far weaker than originally planned. The nature law has faced fierce political backlash since the European Commission proposed it in 2022. Centre-right lawmakers had attempted to scrap it completely, and eventually won changes to weaken parts including a goal to introduce more trees, ponds and other biodiverse features to farmland. The policy now needs final approval from EU countries before it enters into force. That approval is usually a simple formality, and it looks set to avoid the fate of other green policies that the EU has scrapped to appease the farmers. Earlier this month, the European Commission withdrew a proposed law to reduce pesticides and delayed an obligation for farmers to set aside more land to nature. So far, those moves have failed to quell the farmers' protests. Some protest organisers say green policies are not the problem, and instead want the EU to take action to curb cheap food imports. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-parliament-passes-nature-law-despite-political-backlash-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 12:24

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Constellation Energy (CEG.O) , opens new tab gave a better-than-expected full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, as the U.S. electric utility bets on growing clean energy demand and benefits from tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA includes federal tax credits for clean energy technologies, including existing nuclear plants and hydrogen production, which benefits companies such as Constellation to strengthen the long-term outlook of their nuclear fleet. The company said these nuclear production tax credits provide a stable foundation for consistent earnings growth and set a long-term base earnings per share growth target of at least 10% through the decade. For this year, the Baltimore, Maryland-based firm expects an adjusted operating profit of $7.23 per share to $8.03 per share. That is above analysts' estimates of $6.38 per share, according to data from LSEG. "State and federal policies, bipartisan political support, public opinion surveys and increased customer demand for reliable and clean energy all point to strong and growing support for nuclear energy to power our economy for decades to come," Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a statement. However, Constellation was dragged to a fourth-quarter loss from a year-ago profit due to higher interest expenses and nuclear outages -- seven non-refueling days and 56 planned refueling days. It posted a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $36 million, or 11 cents per share, in the October-December quarter, compared with a year-ago profit of $34 million, or 10 cents per share. The company generates electricity through its nuclear, hydro, wind and solar generation facilities, powering more than 16 million homes and businesses across the United States. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/constellation-energys-2024-profit-forecast-beats-estimates-tax-credit-benefits-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 12:12

MUMBAI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended flat on Tuesday after drifting in a tight band throughout the session as dollar demand from domestic oil companies eroded room for gains on the back of sustained inflows. The rupee closed at 82.8975 against the U.S. dollar, barely changed from its close of 82.89 in the previous session. It moved between 82.88 and 82.9025 during the session. The dollar index edged lower to 103.7, while Asian currencies were mostly range-bound heading into the release of key U.S. economic data, which will offer cues on the timing of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. U.S. durable goods order and consumer confidence index data are due later in the day. Investors are currently pricing in a 17% chance of a cut at the Fed's policy meeting in May, down from about 34.5% a week ago, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. While two large foreign banks were spotted offering dollars in Tuesday's session, consistent bids from domestic oil companies contributed to keeping the rupee in a narrow range, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said. Meanwhile, dollar rupee forward premiums fell, with the one-year implied yield falling 4 basis points (bps) to 1.68%, its lowest level in more than two months. Broad-based receiving interest from banks pushed forward premiums lower, with the upcoming maturity of the Reserve Bank of India's $5 billion USD/INR sell-buy swap spurring receiving in near forwards as well, traders said. The rupee is expected to move between 82.80 and 83.10 in the near-term, with U.S. economic data likely to have only a "marginal impact," on the currency, said Anindya Banerjee, head of foreign exchange research at Kotak Securities. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-closes-flat-wedged-between-inflows-local-oil-companies-dollar-demand-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 12:11

Sept 8 (Reuters) - The pound was little changed against the dollar after five straight daily gains, but volatility was low as markets awaited U.S. economic data later in the session, which could affect expectations for the Federal Reserve policy path. Investors were still focused on market pricing for future rate cuts after the pound recorded its biggest one-week gain in 2024 versus the greenback last week. Increasing risk appetite after results from chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and upbeat business activity surveys, which fuelled expectations that the British economy will emerge from its shallow recession in early 2024, boosted the British currency. Sterling edged up 0.05% to $1.2690. Against the euro it was flat at 85.55. The pound continues to benefit from high short-term rates, "as well as the modestly better economic data that we are seeing recently, at least compared to other European countries," said Roman Ziruk, senior market analyst at Ebury. "The consensus position at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is that while rates have reached their cycle high, there is little appetite for immediate cuts, and the first cut will not come before the summer at the earliest," he added. Money markets fully price in a first BoE rate cut in August while discounting the same move by the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve in June -- according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his budget next week. "The political pressure on him to deliver tax cuts is huge, even though the government's fiscal room is likely to be more limited than expected in January," said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director Europe at Eurasia Group. "To finance the tax cuts, officials are considering a further squeeze on public spending; this would further compound the medium-term challenges for an incoming Labour Party-led government, which would be forced to either raise taxes or deliver on the Tories' spending cuts," he added. Britain's opposition Labour Party is way ahead in the polls before a national vote expected this year and recently won a contest for a new lawmaker in the southwestern English town of Kingswood, dealing a blow to the governing Conservatives. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-little-changed-ahead-us-economic-data-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 12:08

RABAT, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A dispute over concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is behind years of delays to Morocco's biggest planned solar project after problems at another prominent plant that caused long shut downs, three sources close to the project said. Morocco has some of the most ambitious green energy goals of any developing nation, aiming for renewables to represent 52% of installed capacity by 2030 from 37.6% now, mostly through investments in solar and wind plants. However, it is already falling behind on solar, with only 831 megawatts (MW) installed so far compared to the 2,000 MW that was planned for 2020. Wind has made up some of the shortfall but polluting coal plants still make up most output. Construction has not even started on the planned $2 billion 800 MW Noor Midelt I plant, which was meant to start operating this year, after the Energy Ministry and grid operator ONEE rejected the proposed CSP technology, the sources said. State energy agency MASEN awarded the contract to develop Noor Midelt I in 2019 to a consortium led by EDF Renouvelables. It asked for the plant to have both photovoltaic (PV) technology, which is cheaper but has little ability to store power, and CSP, which is more expensive but continue powering the grid for hours after dark. However, after the contract was awarded ONEE and the Energy Ministry said they would only agree to buy the power if MASEN either abandoned CSP for PV or changed from thermal salt energy storage to batteries, the sources said. MASEN and the grid eventually signed a power purchase agreement, but there are still discussions between MASEN and the development consortium over the technology specifications, the sources said. MASEN says the project was delayed due to the pandemic and is now in the final stage of development but it did not respond to a specific Reuters request for comment on the technology dispute. EDF Renouvelables said Morocco had decided to restart the development in 2022 with a mix of PV, CSP and battery storage. It said the project was "at the final stage of development" and all partners "remain committed". The Energy Ministry did not comment directly on the problems at Noor Midelt but it said it "tries to be as technology agnostic" as it can as long as costs, sustainability and security objectives are maintained to avoid undue risk. The World Bank and the European Investment Bank said their financing terms for the project remain valid as discussions continue between MASEN and the consortium. The World Bank said construction will take 30 months once negotiations end. CSP PLANT DIFFICULTIES ONEE cited problems at Noor Ouarzazate, Morocco's best-known solar complex, as the reason for wanting MASEN to change the technology at Noor Midelt, the sources said. Technological problems stopped all output at a 150 MW plant there for a year from summer 2021, said two of the sources. "Noor Ouarzazate helped put Morocco on the global map of large-scale renewable energy projects. But a closer look in terms of operation costs and maintenance issues show that the plant is rather a liability," said a source close to Noor Midelt I. "With hindsight, Ouarzazate served as a testing ground for an immature CSP technology," said another source. Morocco's economic, social, and environmental council recommended abandoning CSP altogether in a 2020 report due to its high cost compared to PV and wind. That report said MASEN was operating an $80 million a year deficit at the Noor Ouarzazate complex because it is selling power for less than the production cost. MASEN, which commissioned Noor Ouarzazate, said the plant had shown "good performance in 2023 both on peak and off-peak hours". It added that CSP technology was a solution that offers storage, helping address grid needs at peak hours. ACWA Power, the developer of Noor Ouarzazate, and grid operator ONEE did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/moroccan-solar-plans-hampered-by-dispute-over-technology-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 12:07

ABU DHABI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Ministers from across the globe are convening at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi from Feb. 26-29 to try to set new rules for global commerce, including reforming its dispute system and cutting fishing subsidies. Expectations for the biennial meeting are modest amid growing disregard for trade rules as the nearly 30-year-old body grapples with global geopolitical tensions and the risk of world trade breaking up. The meeting started with East Timor and the Comoros joining the organisation - the first countries to do so since 2016. Negotiations on Tuesday start with fisheries, although India's trade minister, seen as the main holdout in global trade negotiations, has not yet arrived. Here is an overview of the key issues under the spotlight at the conference: REFORM The WTO is trying to finalise a package of reforms to address the way it adjudicates trade disputes. Its top court has been mothballed for four years due to U.S. opposition to new judge appointments, leaving trade disputes worth billions of dollars unresolved. A draft proposal is seen as the last chance for the WTO to fix the system but proposals up to this point have not mentioned how to reboot the court due to a lack of consensus and obstacles abound. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised progress in talks but seemed to rule out the chances of a deal at the Abu Dhabi meeting. "We are not there yet," she said. Currently, countries can still file complaints to a lower body but if they do not accept its findings, the case ends up in legal limbo where some 30 unresolved appeals now sit. FISHING Environmentalists say knocking out billions of dollars in subsidies that promote unsustainable fishing is the single most important thing states can do to help reverse declining stocks. Countries clinched a deal at the last ministerial meeting in Geneva in 2022 on banning some subsidies, including for illegal fishing and high seas stocks. But negotiators arguably left the most thorny issues on subsidies - those that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing - unresolved. "It will hurt if you have to make cuts but I think there's hope," Anna Holl, the World Wide Fund for Nature's Global Lead on the WTO talks, said. One outstanding challenge is to determine exactly who is bound by the toughest rules under a two-tier system. Many, like India, are lobbying for carve-outs using WTO rules that allow some exemptions for developing members. Another outstanding question is whether China, the world's biggest subsidiser, will seek this treatment. More than 200 scientists have urged , opens new tab negotiators to complete the talks which began in the early 2000s. WTO officials hope the first part of the agreement will soon gain the approval of two thirds of the WTO's 164 members and come into effect. So far, more than 70 members have signed up. E-COMMERCE WTO members do not currently agree on whether to extend what is effectively a ban on applying duties to electronic transmissions. The moratorium, in place since 1998, will expire this year if no agreement is made. Analysts say this could see countries introduce customs duties on items such as film downloads in a move strongly opposed by business lobbies. New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay who is facilitating the discussions told reporters he was "feeling positive" that opposition from a handful of countries, including India and Indonesia, could be surmounted. "There's one or two areas that remain stubborn and challenging but we have a pathway forward to discuss them." AGRICULTURE No decisions are expected on agriculture, according to Edwini Kessie, Director of the WTO's Agriculture and Commodities Division. "Right now the positions are too far apart. I do not think members are expecting definitive decisions on the negotiations at this meeting," he said at a Feb. 26 briefing. He added that WTO members wanted to agree on a work plan taking them to the next ministerial meeting. The most heated exchanges have been around a push by India and a coalition of developing countries for a stand-alone permanent waiver to WTO rules that currently restrict domestic agriculture subsidies on food items including rice. Kessie added he did not think India had changed its position in reaction to the latest farmers' protests in the country, just months before a general election. Critics from developed countries including the United States say that negotiations on WTO rules on subsidies cannot be dealt with in isolation. Related topics include reducing domestic support to the farm sector and improving market access through applying peak tariffs or tariff rate quotas. INVESTMENT AGREEMENT A deal meant to simplify red tape, improve the investment environment and encourage foreign direct investment has been agreed by around 125 member states. All members now have to agree to incorporate the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement into the WTO’s legal architecture, a step needed to ensure the organisation can supply resources to monitor compliance. But a consensus at the meeting is not guaranteed and some countries have voiced opposition to smaller negotiating groups. "It could be bumpy," one trade delegate said. https://www.reuters.com/business/wto-meeting-abu-dhabi-whats-stake-2024-02-27/