Premium Content
China Has Just Launched The World s Largest Carbon Market By Alex Kimani - Feb 06, 2021, 4:00 PM CST
For many years, China sacrificed environmental stewardship at the altar of economic growth, adopting a growth-at-all-costs strategy. The economy-first mentality helped Beijing lift 850 million of its citizens from dire poverty but also made the country the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. However, that has been rapidly changing under president Xi Jinping who has vowed to adopt more stringent environmental policies as he seeks to temper the hardline stance that dominated previous administrations. Shortly after Xi Jinping s election in 2013, China introduced the Green Fence operation designed in part to improve the quality of the plastics waste coming into the country before following it up two years later with the National Sword Campaign that effectively banned the importation of plastics into the country.
Friday, 5 February, 2021
Brent is closing in on $60 per barrel for the first time since January 2020. Crude inventories in both China and the U.S. declined this week, offering more evidence of a tightening market. “The physical market is also looking increasingly tight,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG.
Shell profits drop, but boosts dividend. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) reported a $4.8 billion profit for 2020, down 71% from the year before. The oil major hiked its dividend for the first quarter, following a sharp cut last year. “We are coming out of 2020 with a stronger balance sheet,” Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement.