2023-12-07 20:30

BUCHAREST, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Romania's objective to boost the monthly transit capacity for Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta to four million metric tons is edging closer as infrastructure projects advance, the transport minister said on Thursday. Transit through Romania was a record 3 million tons in October alone, minister Sorin Grindeanu said, speaking after a meeting with officials from Ukraine, Moldova, the European Commission and the United States to assess Ukraine's biggest alternative export route for grains. "This shows there is room to reach 4 million tons," he said. He added a European Union-funded project to enable round-the-clock navigation on the Danube river's Sulina canal, which goes to Constanta, has been finalised and will become operational pending staff training. Moldova, bordering Romania and Ukraine, was also upgrading checkpoints and railroad infrastructure to help transit. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the export of goods through Romania amounted to over 3 million tons on average since the start of 2023, half of which was grain, with road checkpoints much improved, while existing railroad infrastructure has not been used to its full capacity. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest grain exporters, and Constanta has become Ukraine's largest alternative export route since Russia invaded in February 2022, with grains arriving by road, rail or barge across the Danube. During January-October, Ukraine shipped 11.7 million tons of grain through Constanta, the port authority told Reuters, up from 10.5 million at the end of September and from 8.6 million in total in 2022. "The Danube corridor is the most effective of the solidarity lanes that the European Commission has put in place after the attack of Russia on Ukraine," said Magda Kopczynska, the Commission’s director general for mobility and transport. "It will remain so not only now during the war, but it needs to remain an important connecting element when it comes to transport integration of both Ukraine and Moldova with the European Union." https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanias-plan-boost-ukraine-grain-transit-very-achievable-minister-says-2023-12-07/

2023-12-07 20:19

OTTAWA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Canada unveiled a plan on Thursday aimed at pushing oil and gas companies to cut emissions up to 38% from 2019 levels by 2030, by introducing a cap-and-trade system that drew immediate opposition from industry groups and some fossil fuel-producing provinces. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the framework for the cap-and-trade system, which would allow companies to buy offsets if their emissions are too high, was "ambitious, but practical" and would help the industry cut pollution without cutting production. "It considers the global demand for oil and gas, and the importance of the sector in Canada's economy, and sets a limit that is strict, but achievable," Guilbeault said in a statement. The long-awaited proposal was slammed by two of Canada's main oil-producing provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the federal Conservative opposition, as well as industry groups who said a cap was unnecessary. Canada, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is aiming to cut emissions 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The sector is Canada's highest-polluting industry, accounting for more than a quarter of all emissions. Many climate campaigners have said oil and gas emissions should be capped at 110 megatonnes by the end of the decade, from 189 megatonnes in 2021, to meet that goal. Under the cap-and-trade system the emissions cap in 2030 would be set at 106 to 112 megatonnes. However, oil and gas companies would be allowed to produce up to an additional 25 megatonnes and offset those emissions by purchasing carbon offset credits or paying into a decarbonization fund. The federal government is aiming to publish draft regulations next year and the final regulations in 2025. The first compliance period is undetermined but will start between 2026 and 2030. Climate policy analysts said the framework was a step toward meaningful and realistic reductions in oil and gas emissions, but the cap will need to decline steeply after 2030 for Canada to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. "They have ended up at a reasonable level of stringency that looks like it's technically feasible and also gives firms a degree of flexibility," said Dale Beugin, executive vice president at the Canadian Climate Institute. Beugin said the timeline is relatively slow however, and should be sped up, while a potential government change in Canada's next federal election, due to take place by 2025, could also undo the policy. The opposition Conservative Party, currently leading in the polls, said the cap was "yet another attack on Canadian workers and Canada's world-class energy industry." PROVINCIAL, INDUSTRY OPPOSITION Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the announcement intentionally attacked Alberta's economy, and that her government will develop a "constitutional shield" in response to the proposal in the coming months. "This proposed cap also undermines the unity of our country," Smith said in a statement. Alberta is also challenging the federal government's requirement for a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada's six largest oil sands producers proposing a carbon capture and storage project to cut emissions, said Canada already had sufficient regulations in place to hit its 2050 net-zero target. A report by the Canada Energy Regulator this year said the country will fall short of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, unless it takes actions beyond the efforts already underway. Pathways President Kendall Dilling said imposing an emissions cap "does nothing to advance the certainty" needed to build multi-billion-dollar decarbonization projects. A number of other jurisdictions including the European Union and California use cap-and-trade systems to limit emissions. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/canada-unveils-cap-trade-system-oil-gas-emissions-2023-12-07/

2023-12-07 19:54

MEXICO CITY, Dec 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday the U.S. Federal Reserve is performing strongly and that she was feeling very satisfied about the path that the U.S. economy is on. Yellen was speaking to reporters during a visit to Mexico City at a joint press conference with Mexican Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez de la O. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/yellen-says-fed-performance-strong-us-economy-robust-2023-12-07/

2023-12-07 19:31

NAIROBI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A blast at an explosives store wrecked buildings and caused massive damage to an industrial zone on the Seychelles' main island Mahe, officials said, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency on Thursday. The blast shook the island as heavy rains triggered flooding which killed three people, the president told reporters on Thursday, calling for a minute of silence. Footage broadcast on national television showed streets covered in deep mud and strewn with debris and uprooted trees. "Following an explosion at the CCCL explosives store that has caused massive damage to the Providence Industrial area and the surrounding areas and major destruction caused by flooding due to heavy rains, the President has declared a State of Emergency for today the 7th December," President Wavel Ramkalawan's office said in a statement. "Everyone is being asked to stay at home. All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons travelling will be allowed free movement." The government's official Visit Seychelles account on X said the international airport and ferries between its islands remained operational for tourists. The Seychelles, a major tourist destination, is made up of 115 islands and is the least populous country in Africa with about 100,000 people. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/seychelles-declares-state-emergency-after-explosion-flooding-2023-12-07/

2023-12-07 18:46

HAMBURG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Lebanese government is believed to have purchased about 30,000 metric tons of milling wheat in a tender this week expected to be sourced from Ukraine, European traders said on Thursday. The purchase of 11.5% protein content wheat was said to have been made at about $253 a tonne c&f for spot shipment, traders said. Finance is being provided by the World Bank as part of its continuing programme of wheat purchases to assist Lebanon, they said. The deadline for submissions of price offers in the tender was Dec. 5. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lebanon-buys-about-30000-metric-tons-wheat-ukraine-traders-2023-12-07/

2023-12-07 18:20

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Binance has withdrawn an application for an Abu Dhabi licence, the latest sign that the giant crypto exchange is reassessing its global structure as regulatory pressures mount. The Binance unit, called BV Investment Management, pulled the application with Abu Dhabi's financial regulator, a spokesperson for Binance said on Thursday. The request, filed a year ago and withdrawn on Nov. 7, would have allowed the firm to manage a collective investment fund, according to the regulator's website. "When assessing our global licensing needs, we decided this application was not necessary," the Binance spokesperson said. Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Service Regulatory Authority (FSRA) declined to comment. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO last month after pleading guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws, with the exchange agreeing to pay over $4.3 billion to resolve a years-long U.S. investigation. The decision to pull the licence application was "unrelated" to the U.S. settlement, the Binance spokesperson said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been pushing to become a digital asset hub, has been a key location for Binance. Binance has regulator permissions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, its website shows. Binance last year said it was recruiting over 100 positions in Dubai and helping to shape its crypto regulations. Former CEO Zhao, a Canadian citizen who was born in China, also became a citizen of the UAE at its invitation, according to U.S. court documents. Zhao has been listed as the owner of two properties in Dubai, filings show. New CEO Richard Teng, speaking virtually at a Financial Times conference in London on Tuesday, said the company's Middle East and North Africa headquarters were in Dubai. He said that the company would announce the location of its global headquarters "in due course", but declined to give further details on when this announcement would be. CYPRUS, BELGIUM This year, Binance has withdrawn from a licence application process in Germany, pulled back from Cyprus and said it was leaving the Netherlands. It was ordered by financial regulators to stop operating in Belgium, but said in August it had set up a Polish entity to serve clients in Belgium. Binance said the pullback from Cyprus was to focus on "fewer regulated entities in the EU", including France, Italy and Spain, ahead of the rollout of the European Union's crypto asset regulations. Binance has also stopped accepting new users in the UK and has said it would sell its Russia business. In Australia, regulators cancelled the financial services licence of Binance's derivatives business. Last week, the securities regulator in the Philippines said it had started the process of blocking Binance there. The Binance spokesperson said on Thursday the company would continue to work with regulators to "to provide world-class services and offerings in the Middle East and beyond." https://www.reuters.com/technology/binance-withdraws-abu-dhabi-licence-bid-crypto-giant-weighs-structure-2023-12-07/