By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Japan aims to double its inter-regional power grid capacity by adding up to 23 gigawatts to help speed expansion of renewable energy such as offshore wind farms, the Nikkei business daily said on its online news site late on Thursday.
The move comes as Japan gears up its drive to expand cleaner energy to help the country achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and as the weak power grid has been a hindrance to the spread of renewable energy in Japan.
There is a plan to build undersea cables to connect the northern island of Hokkaido and the main Honshu island where power demand is high, Nikkei said, citing a plan compiled by the industry ministry and the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO).
3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - French bank Natixis said it plans to stop financing the trading of Ecuadorian crude oil by 2022, after pressure from campaigners over the trade’s links to environmental damage in the Amazon.
FILE PHOTO: Oil field technicians work with a drill at a rig of Ecuador s state oil company Petroamazonas, in Tiputini, Ecuador October 19, 2017. Picture taken October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Tapia/File Photo
The role of European banks in backing the trade came under scrutiny in August, when a report by advocacy groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch named six European banks as major financiers of Ecuadorean oil exports to U.S. refineries.
5 Min Read
(Reuters) - Corporate executives and investors say they want world leaders at next week’s climate summit to embrace a unified and market-based approach to slashing their carbon emissions.
FILE PHOTO: A farmer burns paddy waste stubble in a field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave
The request reflects the business world’s growing acceptance that the world needs to sharply reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as its fear that doing so too quickly could lead governments to set heavy-handed or fragmented rules that choke international trade and hurt profits.
The United States is hoping to reclaim its leadership in combating climate change when it hosts the April 22-23 Leaders Summit on Climate.
By Reuters Staff
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NINGBO, China/BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese automaker Geely, owner of Volvo Cars, on Thursday launched a high-end electric vehicle (EV) brand named Zeekr, targeting China’s growing appetite for premium EVs that has boosted sales for Tesla and Chinese peer Nio.
Parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Geely Automobile said last month they would jointly invest 2 billion yuan ($306 million) in the new venture, seeking to position Zeekr as a startup under Geely group, also known overseas for its 9.7% stake in Germany’s Daimler AG.
The price tags for Zeekr cars will be around 300,000 yuan, and Flynn Chen, Zeekr’s vice president, said the brand will explore new sales and marketing methods, including allowing customers to subscribe to car-using rights and offering a stake in the company to car buyers.
3 Min Read
BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China approved the construction of five nuclear power units, with total installed capacity of 4.9 GW, roughly 10% of the country’s total, two sources said, as Beijing strives for alternatives to fossil fuel to meet its climate goals.
China needs to speed up its nuclear development to achieve its pledge to bring greenhouse gas emissions to a peak before 2030 and become “carbon neutral” by 2060.
The world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter has lagged behind its previous target of operating 58 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2020, partly as the Fukushima nuclear accident slowed down approvals of new projects.