2024-06-28 02:53

BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - China passed a law on Friday to better protect farmers' land rights and support the development of village collectives, aiming to bolster the country's ailing rural economy and achieve food security, state media reported. While all farmland in China is state-owned, farmers have decades-long land lease rights that are exercised on their behalf by collectives, which have been criticised for not giving farmers a sufficient voice. The new Rural Collective Economic Organisations Law, which will take effect on May 1, 2025, defines the role of rural collectives and will give farmers oversight of the collectives. It aims to safeguard the rights of the collective and its members and encourages fiscal and taxation measures to strengthen the development of the rural collective economy, Xinhua reported. Currently, villagers can in theory decide to apply to sell off or develop land. In practice, however, state officials usually decide. And hoping to win investment or other economic gains, they often override the wishes of farmers. Farmers have argued that the current system gives state officials too much power to take land for little or no compensation. Land grabs have been a cause of social unrest in the past. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-passes-new-rural-collective-law-protect-farmers-land-rights-2024-06-28/

2024-06-28 00:35

June 28 (Reuters) - The number of days reaching a sizzling 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) in 20 of the world's largest capitals - from Delhi to Jakarta to Buenos Aires - has risen 52% over the past three decades, a think tank analysis found on Friday. More than 300 million people live in the world's 20 most populous capital cities, where they are uniquely vulnerable to rising temperatures fueled by climate change, as asphalt and buildings absorb and retain heat. Capital cities including Delhi, Dhaka and Manila already this year have been plagued by dangerous heatwaves - leading to a spate of heat-related deaths and school closures. Delhi alone documented its longest and most severe heatwave in 74 years, registering 39 consecutive days with maximum temperatures at or above 40 C (104 F) from May 14 to June 21, according to weather station data. Now, an analysis by the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), quantifies the growing threat of extreme heat in some of the world's largest urban centers. Using surface temperature data from airport weather stations, the researchers found that from 2014 to 2023, there were nearly 6,500 cumulative days, or instances, when one of the 20 cities reached temperatures of 35 C or higher. In the decade from 1994 to 2003, there were just 4,755. "We know that hot weather is not felt evenly across cities," said Tucker Landesman, a researcher with IIED. "Pockets of extreme heat are more likely in certain types of neighborhoods and commercial districts. This is tied to inequality and how we design buildings and public infrastructure." Indonesia's Jakarta experienced the greatest absolute rise in the number of days over 35 C, from 28 days between 1994 and 2003 to 167 in the most recent decade. Seoul, South Korea, went from nine days to 58, while Buenos Aires went from seven days to 35. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/number-days-over-35-c-surges-worlds-scorching-capitals-2024-06-28/

2024-06-28 00:30

LAS VEGAS, June 27 (Reuters) - The world's largest lithium producers told a major industry conference this week they remain bullish on long-term demand for the electric vehicle battery metal despite the recent price plunge that has forced layoffs and curtailed expansions. Once a niche metal used primarily in ceramics and pharmaceuticals, lithium demand has grown rapidly over the past decade. But oversupply from China and a softening of aggressive EV adoption rates has dragged lithium prices down more than 80% in the last year. The mood at the Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas, the world's largest, reflected a cautious hope among attendees that the industry can meet an expected demand jump later this decade as EVs and battery storage technologies grow more popular. The conference had roughly 1,100 attendees, in line with last year and nearly triple 2019 levels, organizers said. "We're really focused on the fundamentals of the underlying business," said Patrick Howarth, head of Exxon's lithium division, which announced at the conference it would expand its lithium production plans in Arkansas. "We're not scared off by low prices, and we're not drawn in by high prices." Fastmarkets data show, for example, that U.S. demand for lithium will increase 29% each year through 2030, with jumps also expected throughout the rest of the world. "Critical minerals are the oil and gas of our energy future," Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes, the U.S. Energy Department's deputy director for batteries and critical materials, told the conference. Zumwalt-Forbes oversees a U.S. government grant program for the critical minerals supply chain and said she was eager to have more lithium companies apply for funding. The demand projections helped offset the somber mood that has permeated the industry in recent months after layoffs from Lake Resources (LKE.AX) New Tab, opens new tab, Albemarle (ALB.N) New Tab, opens new tab and others. "For those of us that are worried about the market sentiments at this moment in time, keep your eye on the long-term trajectory," said Dale Henderson, CEO of Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals (PLS.AX) New Tab, opens new tab. Global lithium mine supply was more than 1 million metric tons last year, a figure expected to more than double by 2026 largely due to expansions in Africa, China and Australia, according to Fastmarkets data. Yet producers warned that unless prices rise, that supply is unlikely to be available. "We're going to be measured and judged in how we react to prices and supply the market," said Sarah Maryssael, chief strategy officer for Arcadium Lithium (ALTM.N) New Tab, opens new tab, which has development projects across the globe. Albemarle, the world's largest lithium producer, started the conference with a stark warning about "concerning" lithium prices, but then mapped out a plan to auction off supplies of its metals to the highest bidder and struck a hopeful tone on demand later this decade. "I'm not worried about demand," said Eric Norris, head of Albemarle's energy storage business. "Ideally it'd be in the U.S. But if it's not in the U.S., no doubt there'll be demand elsewhere." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lithium-producers-bullish-long-term-demand-despite-recent-price-drop-2024-06-28/

2024-06-27 23:16

June 27 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. farm state senators is pushing for a regulatory crackdown on surging imports of used cooking oil from China and elsewhere amid concerns some of the shipments could be fraudulent. U.S. biofuels manufacturers have been buying increasing volumes of used cooking oil in recent years to make products like biodiesel that can fetch lucrative federal and state climate subsidies. But some of the cargoes may include virgin palm oil, a product linked to climate and environmental damage from deforestation, the senators wrote in a letter to several U.S. regulators and agencies and released Thursday. According to the letter, the U.S. has gone from importing less than 200 million pounds of used cooking oil per year to importing over 3 billion pounds in 2023, with more than half coming from China. "We understand there are good actors utilizing UCO as part of a diverse array of feedstocks in their renewable fuel production, and domestic sources of UCO are held to rigorous verification and traceability requirements,” the senators wrote in the letter, dated June 20. "However, we are concerned with the lack of transparency surrounding the United States’ efforts in the area of verifying imported UCO," they said. The letter was addressed to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Trade Representative, and asked for details on U.S. enforcement and verification actions related to used cooking oil imports. It was signed by six farm state U.S. senators, including Republicans Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Roger Marshall, Deb Fischer, and Pete Ricketts, along with Democrat Sherrod Brown. Biofuels producers can collect a number of federal and state subsidies for making low-carbon fuels, including by earning tradable credits called RINs under the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard overseen by the EPA. Europe's used cooking oil imports declined steeply after greater scrutiny on imports to prevent mislabeling, the letter said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-lawmakers-seek-crackdown-chinese-used-cooking-oil-imports-over-fraud-concerns-2024-06-27/

2024-06-27 23:14

SAO PAULO, June 27 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-owned oil giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA) New Tab, opens new tab said on Thursday in a securities filing it will raise its participation in financing employee health plans to 70% from current 60% starting in July. According to the company, the measure would reduce its annual operational cash flow by about 500 million reais ($90.89 million). Petrobras added it will report the financial effects of the higher health plan participation in its second quarter results. ($1 = 5.5009 reais) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brazils-petrobras-raise-participation-employee-health-plans-70-2024-06-27/

2024-06-27 23:08

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - The heatwave in Saudi Arabia blamed for the deaths of 1,300 people on the haj pilgrimage this month was made worse by climate change, a team of European scientists said on Friday. Temperatures along the route from June 16 to 18 reached 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) at times and exceeded 51.8 C at Mecca's Great Mosque. The heat would have been approximately 2.5 C (4.5 F) cooler without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to a weather attribution analysis New Tab, opens new tab by ClimaMeter. ClimaMeter conducts rapid assessments of the role of climate change in particular weather events. The scientists used satellite observations from the last four decades to compare weather patterns from 1979 to 2001 and 2001 to 2023. Although dangerous temperatures have long been recorded in the desert region, they said natural variability did not explain the extent of this month's heatwave and that climate change had made it more intense. The assessment also found that similar past events in Saudi Arabia occurred in May and July, but now June experiences more severe heatwaves. "The deadly heat during this year's haj is directly linked to fossil fuel burning and has affected the most vulnerable pilgrims," said Davide Faranda, a scientist at France's National Centre for Scientific Research who worked on the ClimaMeter analysis. Climate change has made heatwaves hotter, more frequent and longer lasting. Previous findings by scientists with the World Weather Attribution group suggest that, on average globally, a heatwave is 1.2 C (2.2 F) hotter than in preindustrial times. Medical authorities generally do not attribute deaths to heat, but rather to the heat-related coronary or cardiac illnesses exacerbated by high temperatures. Still, experts said it is likely that extreme heat played a role in many of the 1,300 haj deaths. "The idea that an activity so central to the Muslim faith is now so dangerous needs to be a wake-up call," said Mohamed Adow, director of nonprofit Power Shift Africa. "Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest oil producing nations in the world and they often act to frustrate and delay climate action. They need to realise their actions have consequences." Saudi Arabia is the world's second-largest oil producer, after the United States, and state oil firm Saudi Aramco is the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas-emitter. It is responsible for more than 4% of the world's historical carbon emissions, according to a database of emissions from carbon majors New Tab, opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-change-boosted-deadly-saudi-haj-heat-by-25-c-scientists-say-2024-06-27/