Labour promises £3bn to support British steel industry as 2,000 job cuts loom

Jonathan Leake
Mon, 23 October 2023

British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe, north Lincolnshire - LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP

Labour wants to build hydrogen-powered factories that produce green steel as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to invest £3bn in the sector if he wins the next election.

This forms part of the Labour leader’s pledge for Britain’s steel industry to be “the future, not the past”, as he said he will “back, not abandon” steelworkers.

Labour’s bid for hydrogen-powered steel will mean Britain could make so-called green steel from scratch, rather than recycling old scrap.

Details of the £3bn plan follow revelations that 2,000 jobs may go at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.

Mr Starmer made his announcement during a visit to Tata’s giant Port Talbot plant in South Wales on Monday, as he said he wants the UK to retain its steelmaking industry and become a world leader in “green steel production”.

He said: “We have ambitious plans for the steel industry. We see this as the future, not the past. That requires strategic thinking about our economy. We want to go to clean power, that will bring down energy costs.”

The Government last month announced it will pump up to £500m into Port Talbot as part of plans to produce “greener” steel. Tata employs 8,000 people, 4,000 at Port Talbot. Up to 3,000 jobs could eventually be lost.

Over the weekend it was reported that Jingye Group, the Chinese owners of British Steel, want a similar deal, seeking an estimated £300m to help switch its Scunthorpe plant’s coke-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions, which can run on zero-carbon electricity.

However, British Steel is drawing up plans to cut up to 2,000 workers as it grapples with losses of up to £30m a month, the Sunday Times first reported.

Keir Starmer reaffirmed his party's commitment to the steel industry during a visit to Tata’s Port Talbot steelworks - Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Sir Keir met with representatives of the three main steelworkers’ unions – Community, GMB and Unite – during his visit to Port Talbot.

He said: “If we are able to put in place our mission for clean power 2030, that will require more steel – and therefore we want the demand for steel to go up.

“Of course, we need to transition to green steel. But we must do this transition very carefully, protecting the jobs and the skills and the history that we have here in South Wales. Connecting and bridging that to the future, which is green steel.

“So, we have been having productive discussions this morning about what I think will be a very bright future for steel. But only with strategic thinking around it.”

A government spokesperson confirmed it was already in negotiations with Jingye, and said: “Our commitment to the UK steel sector is clear, including announcing a major package of support on energy costs and government financing to enable greener steel production by Tata Steel at Port Talbot.

“We continue to work closely with industry, including British Steel, to secure a sustainable and competitive future for the UK steel industry.”

British Steel’s headquarters are based at the 2,000-acre Scunthorpe site in Lincolnshire, along with its main iron and steelmaking operations. Its four blast furnaces produce about three million tonnes of steel a year – about half the UK total.

It also has rolling mills in Teesside and Skinningrove in the UK and in Alblasserdam in the Netherlands.

A British Steel spokesman said it was committed to transforming British Steel into a “green and sustainable company”. He added: “As part of our journey to net zero, it is prudent to evaluate different operational scenarios.”

British steel ‘the future, not the past’, Keir Starmer vows during Port Talbot visit

David Hughes and Dominic McGrath
Mon, 23 October 2023 



SIR Keir Starmer said that he had “productive” talks during a visit to Port Talbot, as he promised to make the UK a world leader in clean green steel.

The Labour leader visited Tata’s giant Port Talbot plant, promising that the industry was “the future, not the past”.

Tata also runs sites in Llanwern and Caerphilly.

Sir Keir, who was meeting with representatives of the three main steelworkers’ unions – Community, GMB and Unite – during his visit, made the vow as the industry faces job cuts as part of the drive to lower emissions.

He has made delivering clean power by 2030 one of his five missions for a Labour government.

“We have ambitious plans for the steel industry. We see this as the future, not the past. That requires strategic thinking about our economy. We want to go to clean power, that will bring down energy costs,” Sir Keir said.

He added: “If we are able to put in place our mission for clean power 2030, that will require more steel – and therefore we want the demand for steel to go up. Of course, we need to transition to green steel. But we must do this transition very carefully, protecting the jobs and the skills and the history that we have here in South Wales. Connecting and bridging that to the future, which is green steel.

“We have been having productive discussions this morning about what I think will be a very bright future for steel. But only with strategic thinking around it.”

The UK Government last month announced it will pump up to £500 million into Port Talbot as part of plans to produce “greener” steel – but as many as 3,000 jobs could be lost.

The taxpayer funding will help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions, which can run on zero-carbon electricity.

The firm, which employs around 8,000 people across the UK, will also invest about £750 million in the project.

Electric arc furnaces (EAF) are mainly used to melt scrap metal for conversion into new products, while blast furnaces are used to create steel from iron ore and coke.

Around 2,000 jobs are also reportedly at risk at Scunthorpe-based British Steel, according to the Sunday Times, although final decisions have not been made.

A UK Government spokesman said: “Our commitment to the UK steel sector is clear, including announcing a major package of support on energy costs and recent Government financing to enable greener steel production by Tata Steel at Port Talbot.

“We continue to work closely with industry, including British Steel, to secure a sustainable and competitive future for the UK steel industry.”

A Labour spokesman said: “We’ll invest in the communities that are at the heart of the future by investing £3 billion over a decade to greening steel across the UK, from Port Talbot, to Rutherglen, to Scunthorpe.

“Our long-term plan for steel will see a 10-year commitment to invest in the new green technologies we need to keep UK steel competitive, ensure jobs stay in the UK and reduce our carbon emissions.

“That’s the difference between Labour and the Conservatives, they lurch from crisis to crisis while Labour has a plan for a decade of national renewal.”

Community’s general secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “It is clear that Labour is on the side of steelworkers, and we need a Keir Starmer-led Labour government that will deliver the investment needed for our industry to thrive.

“After three years of discussions, the deal that Tata and the UK Government have cooked up – with no input from the unions – is a botched plan for decarbonisation on the cheap.”

He called for a “long, robust consultation” on the plan with the chance for the union to put forward alternative proposals, adding that “we will do everything in our power to support our members and all options should be on the table”.

The Unite union called for Sir Keir to back its plan for the industry, which includes a £12 billion, 12-year phased transition to green steel and changes to procurement rules to allow public contracts to use 100 per cent British metal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Port Talbot can remain at the centre of a vibrant UK steel industry if Keir Starmer commits a future Labour government to supporting Unite’s plan for steel.

“Unite’s workers’ plan for steel shows politicians have the opportunity to make the UK a world leader in steel production – we will be doing everything in our power to make sure they grasp it.”

Labour promises UK steel industry will be ‘backed not abandoned’

David Hughes, PA Political Editor
Sun, 22 October 2023 

The UK can be a world leader in clean steel production, Labour vowed as the industry faces painful job cuts as part of the drive to lower emissions.

Sir Keir Starmer will visit Tata’s giant Port Talbot plant in South Wales where he will promise the UK’s steelmakers are “backed, not abandoned”.

The Government last month announced it will pump up to £500 million into Port Talbot as part of plans to produce “greener” steel – but as many as 3,000 jobs could be lost.

The taxpayer funding will help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions, which can run on zero-carbon electricity.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to visit Port Talbot (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The firm, which employs around 8,000 people across the UK, will also invest about £750 million in the project.

Electric arc furnaces (EAF) are mainly used to melt scrap metal for conversion into new products, while blast furnaces are used to create steel from iron ore and coke.

Around 2,000 jobs are also reportedly at risk at Scunthorpe-based British Steel, according to the Sunday Times, although final decisions have not been made.

A Government spokesman said: “Our commitment to the UK steel sector is clear, including announcing a major package of support on energy costs and recent Government financing to enable greener steel production by Tata Steel at Port Talbot.

“We continue to work closely with industry, including British Steel, to secure a sustainable and competitive future for the UK steel industry.”

Sir Keir is expected to meet representatives of the three main steelworkers’ unions – Community, GMB and Unite – during his visit to Port Talbot.

A Labour spokesman said: “The UK can be a world leader in clean steel and our long-term programme of investment will safeguard jobs and help us lead the pack, not lag behind our competitors.

“Labour won’t stand aside. We will ensure the UK’s steel industry is backed, not abandoned.

“We’ll invest in the communities that are at the heart of the future by investing £3 billion over a decade to greening steel across the UK, from Port Talbot, to Rutherglen, to Scunthorpe.



“Our long-term plan for steel will see a 10-year commitment to invest in the new green technologies we need to keep UK steel competitive, ensure jobs stay in the UK and reduce our carbon emissions.

“That’s the difference between Labour and the Conservatives, they lurch from crisis to crisis while Labour has a plan for a decade of national renewal.”

Community’s general secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “It is clear that Labour is on the side of steelworkers, and we need a Keir Starmer-led Labour government that will deliver the investment needed for our industry to thrive.

“After three years of discussions, the deal that Tata and the UK Government have cooked up – with no input from the unions – is a botched plan for decarbonisation on the cheap.”

He called for a “long, robust consultation” on the plan with the chance for the union to put forward alternative proposals, adding that “we will do everything in our power to support our members and all options should be on the table”.

The Unite union called for Sir Keir to back its plan for the industry, which includes a £12 billion, 12-year phased transition to green steel and changes to procurement rules to allow public contracts to use 100% British metal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Port Talbot can remain at the centre of a vibrant UK steel industry if Keir Starmer commits a future Labour government to supporting Unite’s plan for steel.

“Unite’s workers’ plan for steel shows politicians have the opportunity to make the UK a world leader in steel production – we will be doing everything in our power to make sure they grasp it.”

PRACTICAL AI
Artificial intelligence could help city maintain roads, save money


CBC
Mon, October 23, 2023 


Initial tests by the City of Calgary in using artificial intelligence (AI) show it can do a better job of detecting potential potholes, cracks and other road defects than humans can.

Earlier this year, officials developed a system that uses AI machine-learning technology to gauge pavement conditions.

It was a joint project between the city's mobility department, its information technology department and AltaML, an Alberta-based company that designs and implements AI solutions for businesses.

An IT engineer with the city, Ashiq Rahman, said they first had to tell a computer algorithm what kinds of defects it should look for in the imagery.

"You throw this training set into the model and the model, from that set, will learn these defects and when it learns, it means the model will become ready," he said.

"Then you can use this model to test any new defects that your camera will capture."

What the AI program was able to do had everyone on the project feeling pretty excited.

To illustrate how it performed, the city has produced some images. In blue boxes on the pictures, you can see potholes or cracks that are detectable by the human eye.

But there are also red boxes which outline the deformations detected by AI with varying degrees of accuracy.

"It means the algorithm is saying here that 'look i see a defect here and I am 98 per cent confident that this is a road defect that you are trying to detect,'" said Rahman.

It means city crews could repair a defect before it becomes a bigger problem or they could monitor the situation and deal with it as it becomes visible.

The director of the city's mobility department, Troy McLeod, said having this kind of intelligence can generate all kinds of dividends.

"It can predict where those defects will propagate and come up with a priority repair program so that we can address deficiencies in advance of any failure or any further deficiencies in the roadway," said McLeod.

"This will help us save costs on repair for our pavement assets."

So far this year, the city has patched about 25,000 potholes. That program costs more than $6 million annually. The city also typically spends about $40 million a year repaving roadways where the pavement has reached the end of its lifecycle.


The kind of video that's been gathered using a new high-resolution 11K camera that can be fed into an AI program is shown. (Mike Symington/CBC)

McLeod said the next big step in their AI work will come in January 2024. That's when the city plans to start mounting special high-quality cameras on some of its vehicles.

The devices will be used to gather high resolution, 360-degree video as the vehicle is driven along city streets.

That higher quality video will be fed into the AI program to further test its effectiveness at spotting current and potential problems in the asphalt.

An imagine showing potholes visible to the human eye and ones that were detected by an AI program. (The City of Calgary)

The chief information technology officer for the City of Calgary, Jan Bradley, said the work is "incredibly exciting."

She said that while the discoveries so far have been good news for road maintenance, there is a lot more potential for the city.

"The opportunities that we have to leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, to really solve business unit use cases that can be very time intensive, labour intensive, if we can transition that work to some of these AI models, I think the opportunities are endless."

For example, AI could point out city trees that need watering based on their deteriorating condition, or pinpoint illegal temporary signs next to roads.

Bradley said the city has been working in this field for a few years, but a more recent development has boosted their progress.

"The launch of ChatGPT and the public awareness has really allowed us to accelerate how we are going to be able to use and leverage this technology in our organization. And that's what we're really excited about."

For those who worry about a growing number of city vehicles on the street with cameras, Bradley said there are rules to protect the public's privacy.

She said the city won't be intentionally collecting or keeping imagery of people's faces or licence plates. The focus will be gathering video for what's needed for the AI model to do its work.

The city believes it is at the forefront of this research among Canadian municipalities.

McLeod said he's aware of other cities that are doing AI work regarding potholes, but not related to cracks and other road defects.

IPA

A new hop: How the hunt for a B.C.-optimized beer ingredient could spark revival of a once-mighty industry


CBC
Sat, October 21, 2023


A research program in British Columbia is aiming to help revive the province's once-mighty hop industry by developing B.C.-optimized strains of the beer ingredient.

Since 2019, the NextGen Hops development program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Langley — about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver — has been breeding plants that will thrive in the province's climate and potentially lead to the creation of a signature B.C. hop, in the same way some current varieties are associated with major producing regions like southern Germany and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Together with the small group of the province's remaining hop growers, the aim is to "get more acres in the ground and hopefully develop the next great hop to make the farmers happy and the brewers happy," said Mathias Schuetz, a molecular biologist and biochemist at KPU who is leading the NextGen Hops program.

B.C. was once the biggest producer of hops in the Commonwealth, with production focused mostly in the Fraser Valley, but the industry began to dwindle in the 1950s in the face of foreign competition.


Hop cones ready to be picked in the hop yard at Barnside Brewing in Delta, B.C., in September. (Andrea Klipp)

The province's industry today is tiny — with just five commercial-grade farms cultivating not more than 50 acres, according to members of the B.C. Hop Growers Association — especially compared to its giant competitor to the south, where Washington's Yakima Valley produces the largest annual yield of hops in the world across thousands of acres.

While much of the hops used by breweries across Canada is imported, mostly from the U.S., growers and researchers believe the KPU program is laying an important foundation for future success and development here.

Head start with 'feral' hops

The hop plant, humulus lupulus, which is grown on tall trellis structures due to its climbing nature, produces bright green cones in late summer and early fall that have been prized as a beer ingredient for centuries.

Hops were primarily used in beer for their bitter and preservative qualities, but interest this century has tended to focus more on the aromas and flavours different varieties provide.

The goal of the NextGen Hops program is to create a type of hop that has a high yield to maximize profit and is disease-resistant, particularly to the mildew that can blight the crop in southwest B.C.'s relatively damp climate.

Schuetz and his team have leaned on the province's brewing past for help in isolating these qualities by seeking out "feral" hops left behind by the industry in the 20th century. These plants have thrived in the wild along roads, waterways and rail lines across the Lower Mainland for decades, meaning nature has already done some of the lab work.

"They're not being cultivated, they're surviving well in the wild with disease pressures that are all around them, so we're using them for breeding stock — using hops with these good traits and crossing them with varieties that are grown for aromas and flavours," said Schuetz, whose program has been boosted by a $250,000 grant from Genome B.C. to help with molecular analysis.


Mathias Schuetz in the lab with a DNA sequencing machine that his research team is using for a hop genomics program. (Garrett McCarthy)

But what would the exact aromas and flavours be in a signature B.C. hop? Salmonberry and salal? Cedar and kush?

"We're letting the brewers decide," said Schuetz, who's making use of KPU's in-house brewery to get brewing program students to test his cross-bred hops in batches of beer.

He concedes that the popularity of fruity hop flavours like berry, citrus and stone fruit could influence the profile, as well as an emerging trend toward the spicier notes of European hops.


Staff and students from Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Applied Genomics Centre and brewing program help harvest hops at Crescent Island Hops in Delta, B.C., on Sept. 15. (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)

Local hops for local brewers

Schuetz took his research to the B.C. Craft Brewers Conference on Friday, in a bid to convince more beer-makers to opt for local when buying hops.

Growers say it shouldn't be a hard sell, seeing as B.C.'s booming craft beer scene already draws heavily on community support and collaboration.

"Everything about craft beer is more localized than just about any other business out there these days, especially in the age of Amazon," said Ken Malenstyn, chair of the B.C. Hop Growers Association and owner of Barnside Brewing in Delta, about 25 kilometres south of Vancouver.

"We'd like to tie ingredients to that story as well."

However, local brewers have been slow to put trust back in B.C. hops after a short boom-and-bust period in the mid-2010s that damaged the industry's reputation, said Malenstyn, who cited issues with operators who planned according to speculation and not demand.

"There was a lot of damage done — some small landholders lost their land; it really hurt the reputation of local growers; there were issues with product quality … so many issues," Malenstyn said.


An aerial shot of the hop yard at Barnside Brewing in Delta, B.C. (Andrea Klipp)

One of the few established growers that remains to revive the industry is Topp's Hops in Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie, which handles all aspects of hop production, from growth through processing to delivery.

Despite the tiny stature of the industry in B.C., owner Mark Topper is confident there's room for growth once the pieces of high-quality research and local support connect.

"There could be a fivefold increase in what's being done right now, with some simple messaging and awareness to the brewers and a community connection … it's just getting the glue to bring it all together," said Topper, who has been growing hops on his family's farm since 2014.

There's also some long-term climate resiliency built into the industry in southwest B.C., in terms of ample water sources such as the Fraser River. A growing concern among the hop producers of Yakima is drought and high heat, Schuetz says, adding that yields are falling year after year in major hop regions of Europe due to extreme weather caused by climate change.

A new variety of high-yield, disease-resistant, aromatic hop can take 12 to 15 years to develop, Schuetz says, but he's hopeful the timeline can be shortened. He says he has three promising potential varieties, with one of them already planted over an acre-and-a-half in the Fraser Valley.


Hops is a primary ingredient in most beer, lending bitter and preservative qualities, as well as different aromas and flavours depending on the variety. (Andrea Klipp)

In the meantime, Schuetz, Malenstyn and Topper are all keen to point out that high-quality hops are already being produced in B.C. that show subtle terroir in the different soils they're grown in, whether that's in Abbotsford, Delta or Pemberton.

"We have excellent hops growing right now, with public varieties like Cascade, Chinook, Centennial," Schuetz said. "We're urging Canadian brewers to access them."

Indigenous students lead the way in new McGill course on Indigenous health care

CBC
Sun, October 22, 2023 


A new course at McGill University is putting a spotlight on Indigenous health care, and Indigenous students are the driving forces behind it.

The course, called "Indigenous Worldviews in Health Delivery and Research," debuted this fall. It's available to graduate students at the School of Population and Global Health (SPGH), which is part of McGill's faculty of medicine and health sciences.

The key role Indigenous students play in shaping this program makes it a first among all Canadian universities, according to McGill. Indigenous staff and faculty also played a role in shaping the new course.

It examines the effects of colonialism on Indigenous communities, specifically as it pertains to their experiences in hospitals. The case of Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw woman who recorded herself moments before her 2020 death as hospital staff hurled racist insults at her, is among those being explored. It also looks as Indigenous health research ethics.

The course's co-creator, Sidney Leggett, a master's student who is Métis, said the push to create this course began a year ago when students noticed a gap in what they were learning. Students eligible for the course are enrolled in programs that allow them to work in fields such as public health, occupational health, biostatistics and epidemiology.


Anglena Sarwar, a master's student at McGill, is one of the first students to enrol in the 'Indigenous Worldviews in Health Delivery and Research' course. (Matt D'Amours/CBC)

"For either an epidemiologist or a public health expert, you're generally going to be in some kind of policy-making role and making policy in Canada means that you're making policy that affects Indigenous people," said Leggett.

"Students just felt that they were going through all these methods courses, intensive courses and were kind of missing that piece."

It was important to "Indigenize" the curriculum, according to Anyana Banerjee, an assistant professor at McGill and the SPGH's lead on equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.

She said being able to grasp the history and current realities surrounding Indigenous health gives graduates — regardless of their background — the tools to break the cycle of discrimination in health care.

Anglena Sarwar, who is working to get a master's degree in public health, says she's passionate about equity and social justice and felt this class was a perfect fit.

She says she's learned a lot in just a few a weeks — enough to realize that wrapping her head around the realities of Indigenous health care is a process that will continue well past this semester.

"It's going to be a continuous process throughout my life. I'm never going to have all the right answers," Sarwar said.


Students who participate in the new course are enrolled in programs that allow them to eventually work in fields like public health, epidemiology and biostatistics. (Mat D'Amours/CBC)

"No matter what, I'm going to be a learner. It doesn't matter if I have my master's. I'm going to be working with communities, people who have better knowledge than me."

The course isn't mandatory, though that could change in the future.

Leggett hopes it contributes to having more Indigenous students choosing fields like epidemiology.

"At the end of the day, that will be the strongest baseline in Canada to build a successful equity and policy-making foundation," Leggett said. "It's to have Indigenous people in the room."

New partnership agreements struck to support northern Quebec Cree health hubs


CBC
Mon, October 23, 2023 


Leaders of several Cree organizations have signed a historic agreement they say will help address some long-standing health and social issues, like intergenerational trauma, chronic illnesses and high rates of addictions.

On Sept. 22, leaders from the Cree health board, Cree Nation Government (CNG) and Cree School Board signed a new Community Miyupimaatisiiun Committee Partnership agreement to improve overall well-being for Cree people in northern Quebec communities.

"The nation was too split up, doing their own thing without considering working together because we're all serving the same people," said Bertie Wapachee, the chairperson of the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB).

Instead of addressing one part of an issue, we can do it all together [such as] alcoholism, bootlegging or drug addiction and drug trafficking," said Wapachee.

"Miyupimaatsiiun," in English, roughly translates to "healthy living."

Bertie Wapachee, middle, speaks about the importance of shared responsibility toward healthy living of all Cree in Eeyou Istchee. They signed the agreement in Chisasibi on Sept. 22. (Marcel Grogorick/CBHSSJB)

Community Miyupimaatisiiun Centres (CMC) are existing local health hubs in Cree communities that offer general medicine, home care and dentistry, among other services.

Each community also has a Miyupimaatisiiun committee made up of local leaders and community members, some of whom represent regional Cree organizations and entities. They are mandated to identify three local health and social priorities and suggest solutions, according to a release about the signing. The idea is to better support and bridge the local CMC committees with regional entities and resources.

Mandy Gull-Masty, the current Grand Chief of Eeyou Istchee, said that she is looking forward to the mandate beginning.

"We are inter-connected, but we know every community also has diverse needs … The Miyupimaatisiiun committees are critical to finding successful solutions that are Cree-driven," said Gull-Masty, in a press release.


Sarah Pash, second from left, is the chairperson for the Cree School Board. She says collaboration is important for meaningful action. (Marcel Grogorick/CBHSSJB)

Leaders of Cree organizations say they will support the Miyupimaatsiiun committees in programming and projects.

Priorities could be anything from youth mental health, Cree customary adoption or chronic conditions such as diabetes, among others, according to a Cree health board press release.

One of the other entities signed onto the agreement is the Cree School Board.

"The effects of the pandemic, compounded with the issues we face in our communities as a result of intergenerational traumas, necessitate a focus on physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being in our schools," said Sarah Pash, chairperson for the Cree School Board.


Members of the CBHSSJB, CNG, CSB and nine chiefs from Eeyou Itschee signed the new Community Miyupimaatsiiun Committee Partnership. (Marcel Grogorick/CBHSSJB)

The regional partners and local committees are in the early stages of figuring out how the committees will work and how they can be best supported.Their aim is to work together toward a healthier nation in all aspects of life.

"Whatever action plan they come up with, we'll do our part in contributing [funding] to their action plan," said Wapachee, adding the level of collaboration is something that has never been done before.

They start meetings soon, Wapachee said, adding he's looking forward to moving to a Cree model of what health and well-being looks like.

"The four elements in life — the physical health, emotional health, mental health and spiritual health — have to be balanced," said Wapachee. "That's what we're all seeking and that's what we all deserve."

ALLITERATION
Biden-Backed Battery Firm Plunges After Pausing Construction

LIKE OBAMA SOLAR SCANDAL

Joe Deaux and Ari Natter
Mon, October 23, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., which is set to receive significant backing from the Biden administration, saw its share price slashed nearly in half after announcing it would pause construction on a first-of-its-kind lithium-ion-battery recycling plant.

The Toronto company said it would halt work on its Rochester Hub pending completion of a strategic review, including scope and budget. Li-Cycle said it is facing escalating construction costs that exceed prior guidance and is working closely with the US Energy Department concerning its offer of a $375 million loan commitment.

Li-Cycle is one of the many companies vying to help the US meet surging demand for battery materials needed in the transition from gas-powered cars. The government is pouring billions of dollars in subsidies and tax incentives to build up a domestic supply chain, intended to help the US compete with China’s dominant industry position. The setback shows the challenges the US and the West face trying to essentially kick-start an industry from scratch.

Li-Cycle shares fell as much as 49% in New York. The stock closed at $1.23, down 46% for the day, its largest drop on record.

“The board of directors has decided to pause construction work on the Rochester Hub, pending a review of the project, including an evaluation of the go-forward phasing of its scope and budget, including construction strategy,” according to the statement. “As previously disclosed, engineering and procurement for the project are largely complete, with the current focus being on construction activities on site.”

Shares jumped 6% in February after the Biden administration announced the company’s US subsidiary would receive the loan to help finance expansion of a facility to recycle lithium-ion batteries into chemicals that can be used for the batteries of more than 200,000 electric vehicles a year. The funding is from the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program amid a broader White House goal of having half of all car sales in 2030 be zero-emissions.

The unexpected announcement comes as congressional Republicans have vowed to find the next Solyndra LLC in their criticism of the hundreds of billions of dollars in new loan authority given to the Energy Department in President Joe Biden’s signature climate law. Solyndra, a California solar manufacturer that flopped soon after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee during the Obama administration, resulted in a years-long pause in loan activity amid intense congressional scrutiny.

The Energy Department said the Li-Cycle loan is still in the conditional phase and no money has yet been distributed.

(Updates with shares in fourth graph, expanded company comment in fifth graph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

ABOLISH BOARDING SCHOOLS

Mother files wrongful death lawsuit against now-closed Christian boarding school in Missouri

Mon, October 23, 2023



MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A mother is suing a shuttered Christian boarding school in Missouri, blaming her son's death on a gang rape and other abuse he endured there.

Agape Boarding School has been subjected to a wave of litigation as a series of abuse allegations emerged, but the case filed this month and amended Monday in federal court by Kathleen Britt is believed to be the first wrongful death suit.

The suit said that mental health problems plagued Britt's son, Jason Britt, after he left the private school, where several staffers subsequently were charged. The suit said he lifted weights obsessively and ingested copious steroids so he would become so strong that he never would be victimized again.

He grew so despondent that he wrote a suicide note. But heart and kidney failure were what claimed his life in February 2022.

“The saddest part of his case is he finally found a cause to live when the circumstances of his choices ended up killing him,” said attorney Rebecca Randles. “It is one of those completely devastatingly sad situations.”

Among those named in the suit are the school, a company that transported students there, and Cedar County Sheriff James McCrary. Agape’s attorney and the sheriff didn't immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Jason Britt's parents turned to Agape because they were worried about his slipping grades and partying. In 2010, the then-16-year-old was awoken in the middle of the night while staying with his girlfriend. The men who transported him to Agape zip tied his hands and told him he had been given up for adoption, the suit said.

Instead of the counseling his parents were promised, the school was “a concentration camp or torture colony cloaked in the guise of religion," the suit said. Upon arriving, his head was shaved. And when he tried to write to his family about what was happening, he was punished. The maltreatment culminated in him being gang raped, the suit said.

The suit said the sheriff's department knew of reports of abuse at Agape and a sister boarding school. But despite those reports, deputies routinely returned runaways to their schools without effectively investigating or reporting concerns to state welfare workers.

Some of the sheriff's department staff also worked at the school, the suit said.

When Jason Britt's mother visited, she was alarmed by her son's demeanor and took him home, the suit said. The family learned he had been abused at the school, but they were ignored by Cedar County authorities, the lawsuit said. Anxious and withdrawn, he finished high school online and grew obsessed with weight lifting.

“The steroids, testosterone, high blood pressure and anxiety coupled with the drug addiction were the mechanism of his death; the cause of his death was the abuse at Agape,” the suit said.

More than a dozen other former students have settled lawsuits alleging they were abused at the southwest Missouri school.

When it shut down in January, it was the fourth and last unlicensed Christian boarding school to close in Cedar County since September 2020. The school’s former director, Bryan Clemensen, said the school, whose enrollment had tumbled, closed because it did not have the funding to continue.

Former Agape students came forward with abuse allegations in 2020. One former student said he was raped at Agape and called “seizure boy” because of his epilepsy. Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor.

In 2021, Agape’s longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes.

But in Missouri, only the local prosecutor can file charges, and Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither has said no additional employees would be charged.

Heather Hollingsworth, The Associated Press

Why Venezuela Is About to Lose Its Oil Crown Jewel

Fabiola Zerpa, Nicolle Yapur and Jef Feeley
Mon, October 23, 2023



(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela is entering the final stage of a long legal battle in which its most valuable foreign asset, Citgo Petroleum Corp., will be auctioned off to settle claims against the government and its oil company.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The sale starts on Monday with the expected distribution of marketing materials to potential buyers, setting off a bidding process expected to last several months.

Citgo had been shielded by US sanctions against Venezuela that prevented creditors from seizing the refiner. But a US judge ordered the process for the sale of its parent company, PDV Holding Inc., to begin this month after Washington signaled it wouldn’t stand in the way.

More than 20 plaintiffs are now seeking to collect on the auction, scheduled for June 6, while navigating legal roadblocks Venezuela has thrown up. They include bondholders, commercial lenders and companies whose Venezuela assets were taken over by former President Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013.

1. Who controls Citgo and why does Venezuela have to sell it?

The Venezuelan opposition currently controls the refiner. Citgo has been trapped in a battle between two political factions since 2019, following the US government’s recognition of Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president. Guaido’s appointees were then authorized by the US to act as representatives of the company in US courts.

By then Venezuela’s creditors — a varied group that holds a mix of arbitration awards, unpaid loans and defaulted bonds — had begun to seek compensation in the courts, and Citgo had emerged as the most valuable asset in the mix.

The sanctions bar any transfer or sale of assets belonging to Venezuela’s state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, which owns PDV Holding, Citgo’s parent. But the US said in May that it wouldn’t block the court-ordered sale of PDV Holding or take action against companies participating in the process. That bolstered creditor optimism.

The Venezuelan opposition, which includes Guaido but is splintered, has tried to settle the most pressing claims, including by Canadian mining company Crystallex International Corp., but negotiations have been overtaken by the now imminent sale of the company.

The economic backdrop of the fight over Citgo includes Venezuela’s seven-year recession and one of the longest bouts of hyperinflation in world history, which were sparked by a steep drop in oil prices and the tough US sanctions. The country’s oil exports, responsible for more than 90% of its income, collapsed amid industry mismanagement, corruption and restrictions on international trade.

Even as Venezuela’s oil industry crashed, Citgo thrived under better refining margins and as market conditions improved.

2. How do creditors line up for the sale?

Creditors seeking payment from the sale of the shares of Citgo’s parent need to take a number of steps required by US Circuit Judge Leonard Stark, who is in charge of the process leading to the sale. He has favored a first-come, first-served basis for companies to participate in the auction, and all requirements must be fulfilled by May. More than 20 plaintiffs have filed for compensation, bringing the total claims to about $20 billion.

Only Crystallex, which won a $1.2 billion award against Venezuela, has completed all the requirements, from proving that Venezuela owes it money to obtaining a writ of attachment from the court against the shares of PDV Holding. The rest of the creditors have yet to complete all the steps. Some of them have had their proceedings slowed by Venezuela’s appeal.

3. How much is Citgo worth?

The value of Citgo, the parent company’s sole asset, has increased in the past few years as crude prices soared during the pandemic and now amid high energy prices driven partly by the war in Ukraine. Experts have valued the firm from $8.1 billion to $23.5 billion. EMFI Securities estimates that Citgo is worth between $13.3 billion and $14 billion. Citgo has said it could tap its $3 billion cash pile to settle claims.

Read More: Venezuela Faces Loss of Citgo — and Desperately Needed Dollars

Under these valuations, the share sale would be enough to satisfy at least the most immediate creditors, including Crystallex. But Venezuela has about $160 billion in outstanding debt, including defaulted bonds, loans and arbitration awards.

4. Who might buy Citgo?

The purchase of Citgo could be an attractive proposition for various potential buyers.

The refiner owns three refineries and has 38 fully or jointly owned terminals, as well as a network of about 4,200 gas stations. Its assets were highly profitable last year, with each site earning between $1.6 billion and $3 billion, and are “highly competitive” in North America, with two ranking in the second 25% in 2022, said Alan Gelder, an analyst for refining markets at the consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

It could interest buyers seeking to expand their businesses or as a financial investment, according to Jorge Piedrahita, the chief executive officer of Gear Capital Partners in New York.

Companies such as Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. would be in the first group, Piedrahita said, while private equity funds may be interested because of Citgo’s competitiveness and ability to generate cash. Independent refiners might be interested, too.

Given the sanctions, any share transfer will require a license from the US Treasury. The buyer would have to pass government scrutiny as well.

5. What’s the timeline for Citgo’s sale?

An initial schedule set in July by Special Master Robert Pincus was modified on Monday, the launch date, nearly a week after US sanctions on Venezuela were eased. Pincus changed the selling procedure from a so-called stalking horse bidder to a traditional two-round bidding process, customary for merger-and-acquisition sales “in an effort to increase competition among potential bidders.” Creditors must complete some steps to be eligible to bid by Jan. 12, and first round of bids is set for Jan. 22. The second one is to be determined. The final hearing to approve the sale is set for July 15. The new key dates reflect a less restrictive calendar compared to the one approved in July of this year.

Remaining litigation could slow the process.

Last week, the Biden administration issued a set of licenses to suspend some sanctions against Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, bonds and gold. US Treasury also extended a protection on Citgo which prevents holders of the PDVSA 2020 bonds from seizing the shares of the refiner’s parent until after January 2024. However, as the US still doesn’t recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate ruler, the company remains under the opposition’s control.

US Justice Department officials say government wouldn’t take sanctions enforcement actions against entities participating in the sale of Citgo’s parent company


PDVSA notes due in 2020, backed by a 50.1% stake in Citgo Holding, jump as a date for the auction of Citgo’s parent is set


New York hedge fund Tenor Capital Management is set for a big win after investing in Crystallex


Federal judge sets date to launch the sale process


The US suspends sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas and gold production and lifted some restrictions on bond trading

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MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Chevron buys Hess for $53 billion, 2nd megadeal in the oil patch this month as energy prices soar


Mon, October 23, 2023 


NEW YORK — Chevron is buying Hess Corp. for $53 billion and it’s not even the biggest acquisition in the energy sector this month as major producers seize the initiative while oil prices surge.

Crude prices rose sharply in early 2022 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are hovering around $90 per barrel after ticking another 9% higher this year. That has made big drillers cash rich and they are looking for places to invest.

The Chevron-Hess deal comes less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil said that it would acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion.

Upward pressure on oil prices are being applied from a number of fronts including the war in Ukraine. Oil markets are being stretched by cutbacks in oil production from Saudi Arabia and Russia, and now, a war between Israel and Hamas runs the risk of igniting a broader conflict in the Middle East. While attacks on Israel do not disrupt global oil supply, according to an analysis by the U.S Energy Information Administration, “they raise the potential for oil supply disruptions and higher oil prices.”

Chevron said Monday that the acquisition of Hess adds a major oil field in Guyana as well as shale properties in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. Guyana is a South American country of 791,000 people that is poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer, placing it ahead of Qatar, the United States, Mexico and Norway. It has become a major producer in recent years with oil giants, including Exxon Mobil, China’s CNOOC, and also Hess, squared off in a heated competition for highly lucrative oil fields in northern South America.

“This combination is aligned with our objective to safely deliver higher returns and lower carbon,” Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said in prepared remarks. “In addition, Hess increases Chevron’s estimated production and free cash flow growth rates over the next five years, and is expected to extend our growth profile into the next decade supporting our plans to increase our peer-leading dividend growth and share repurchases.”

Chevron is paying for Hess with stock. Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 shares of Chevron for each Hess share. Including debt, Chevron valued the deal at $60 billion.

And even with alarms being raised over climate change after a summer of record-smashing temperatures, elevated energy prices have driven more exploration and more drilling, and big payouts for investors.

There have been a number of acquisitions focused on U.S. shale fields and another round of consolidation in the energy sector began during the pandemic as big producers sought to cut costs. In the summer of 2020, Chevron announced that it was buying Noble Energy for $5 billion. Chevron made the deal when crude prices were down more than 30% in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. That same year, ConocoPhillips bought shale producer Concho Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $9.7 billion.

Last month Britain gave the go-ahead for a major oil and gas project in the North Sea, ignoring warnings from scientists and the United Nations that countries must stop developing new fossil fuel resources if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Chevron said the deal will help to increase the amount of cash given back to shareholders. The company anticipates that in January it will be able to recommend boosting its first-quarter dividend by 8% to $1.63. This would still need board approval. The company also expects to increase stock buybacks by $2.5 billion to the top end of its guidance range of $20 billion per year once the transaction closes.

The boards of both Chevron and Hess have approved the deal announced Monday after six months of negotiations, and is targeted to close in the first half of next year. It still needs approval by Hess shareholders. John Hess, the company's CEO, is expected to join Chevron’s board. His family owns a large chunk of Hess.

Shares of Chevron Corp., based in San, Ramon, California, fell 3.7% Monday. Shares of New York-based Hess Corp. ended down 1%.

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press

The Unraveling Web of Chinese Cyber Scams in Southeast Asia

Story by Aqsa Younas Rana • 1d


The Unraveling Web of Chinese Cyber Scams in Southeast Asia

© Provided by BNN Breaking

In a digital era, where technology offers unprecedented opportunities for development, it also provides fertile ground for illicit activities. Southeast Asia has become the latest theatre for this digital duel, witnessing a dramatic rise in cyber scams orchestrated by Chinese criminal syndicates. These scams have ensnared tens of thousands of individuals, many of whom are Chinese nationals, and despite a series of crackdowns, continue to thrive in the region. This investigative piece delves into the rise of these cyber scam networks, their intricate strategies, and the challenges faced in dismantling them.

The Modus Operandi of Chinese Cyber Scam Networks

Social media platforms, the virtual marketplaces of our times, are the hunting grounds of these networks. They lure individuals with alluring yet fictitious investment schemes, job offers, and even digital romances. The tools of this trade are as diverse as they are devious - scripts, images of models and influencers, and translation software - all purposed to deceive their targets. The scams often originate from areas where China's Belt and Road Initiative has funded large construction projects, drawing Chinese criminals seeking to exploit the region's lax law enforcement.

The Role of Chinese Criminal Syndicates and Local Elites

The puppeteers behind these operations are Chinese criminal syndicates, often working in collusion with local elites. Myanmar, with its porous law enforcement, serves as a popular base for these syndicates. They frequently collaborate with ethnic minority armed groups controlling the country's border regions. The syndicates' reach extends to Chinese state enterprises, think tanks, and government officials, adding layers of complexity to the efforts aimed at dismantling these networks.

Challenges in Combating Chinese Cyber Scam Networks

The fight against these cyber scam networks has proven an uphill battle. Despite joint operations between regional and Chinese authorities, the enforcement actions are often seen as inadequate. The criminals simply relocate when one location is targeted, making it almost impossible to eradicate these operations. The involvement of local elites and the sprawling reach of Chinese crime syndicates represent formidable obstacles to dismantling these networks.

Implications for China and Southeast Asia

The pervasiveness of these cyber scam networks holds serious implications for both China and Southeast Asia. China's image abroad is tarnished, and the fear of becoming a victim discourages Chinese tourists from visiting Southeast Asia, impacting the region's tourism industry. Reports of young people exploited and forced into scam operations underline the human cost of these criminal networks. The difficulty in combating these networks also raises questions about the effectiveness of regional law enforcement and the need for closer cooperation among Southeast Asian nations.

The rise of Chinese cyber scam networks in Southeast Asia underscores a complex law enforcement challenge. These networks, exploiting lax law enforcement and facilitated by local elites, continue to operate with relative impunity. The efforts to crack down on these scams have so far seen limited success, underscoring the need for more comprehensive and sustained initiatives. The implications of these networks extend beyond financial losses, impacting China's global standing and deterring Chinese tourists. A solution to this issue requires closer cooperation between Southeast Asian countries and a concerted effort to dismantle the criminal networks that perpetuate these scams.

China's crackdown on cyber scams in Southeast Asia ensnares thousands but leaves the networks intact

Mon, October 23, 2023 



BANGKOK (AP) — Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him into a cyber scam compound in Myanmar, where he was instead ordered to lure Chinese into giving up their savings for fake investment schemes via social media platforms.

Zhang is one of tens of thousands of people, mostly but not all Chinese, who have become ensnared in cyber scam networks run by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia. Regional and Chinese authorities have netted thousands of people in a crackdown, but experts say they are failing to root out the local elites and criminal networks that are bound to keep running the schemes.

When scam operations are shut down in one place they often just resurface elsewhere. The problem is an embarrassment for Beijing and is discouraging ordinary Chinese from traveling to Southeast Asia out of fear they might be duped or kidnapped and caught up in a cyber scam operation.

In recent years, media reports have uncovered instances of young people being lured to places in Cambodia or Myanmar for high-paying jobs, only to be forced to work as scammers. Rescue organizations say people are regularly beaten or face physical punishments such as being forced to run laps if they don't perform well.

In August, China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar agreed to set up a joint police operations center to tackle cyber scams in the region. On Oct. 10, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that its “Summer Operation” had successfully brought back 2,317 scam suspects from northern Myanmar to China.

China calls such people suspects, though experts say most of them are victims who were forced to work for the criminals. They question how they will be treated once back in China.

The schemes based in countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are run by Chinese bosses hand-in-hand with local elites. Many are based in places where China has financed big construction projects through leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.

Myanmar's border regions long have been a magnet for criminals — historically including drug producers and traffickers — because of lax law enforcement. Such places are generally under the control of ethnic minority armed groups, either opposed to or allied with Myanmar’s central government. Some also cooperate with organized crime gangs.

“From the vantage point of the Chinese government, it’s a source of extreme embarrassment that you have so many of these Chinese criminals operating all across Southeast Asia,” said Jason Tower, an expert on transnational crime with the United States Institute of Peace.

The syndicates also are known for “pig butchering” cons, where scammers entice individuals, often halfway across the world, to invest their money in bogus schemes after duping them into digital romances.

The scammers divide their targets into two categories: Chinese and non-Chinese. They use scripts, images of models and influencers and translation software to trick the people they contact by phone or online into parting with their money. Victims can be anywhere in the world.

The criminals have “ridden on the shoulders of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Tower, who outlined links between the criminals and Chinese state enterprises, think tanks and government officials in a 2020 report written for the United States Institute of Peace.

Zhang was working in Thailand and on a visa run to Laos when he met the man who lured him to the scam compound in Myanmar. Giving what he said was his last name, Gao, he claimed to be a broker and travel agent for Chinese living in Thailand. Zhang and his wife wanted extra money to pay for in vitro fertilization to have another child. Gao suggested he go work in Myawaddy, in eastern Myanmar’s Kayin state, teaching a local chef how to cook Chinese dishes in Gao’s new restaurant. The pay would be double what Zhang made in China.

Zhang was wary. Since a 2021 coup, military-controlled Myanmar has been embroiled in civil conflict. But Gao reassured him that he wouldn’t be doing anything illegal and said the restaurant would have plenty of customers since many cyber scam businesses were operating in the area.

That might have raised a red flag but it was only once he got to Myanmar that Zhang realized his predicament. He asked to go back home, saying there was a family emergency. His family helped him scrape together some 40,000 yuan ($5,472) to pay off the debt Gao claimed he owed him, and he slipped away one night, swimming across the Moei River into Thailand, where he turned himself in to Thai police, who contacted the Chinese Embassy.

Zhang showed the AP copies of his deportation notice from the Thai Immigration police and a temporary ID card. He returned to China in late June and was questioned by Chinese police but not detained. He has been sharing his story on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to alert others to the risks and says people often contact him about relatives trapped in cyber scam compounds.

“We all went out with this wonderful sense of hope, but then reality slammed us in the face,” he said.

In total, China has detained some 4,000 suspects and returned them back to China.

The Ministry of Public Security has claimed “breakthrough results” through operations in coordination with Myanmar authorities. On Monday, they announced they had repatriated another 2,349 people. The ministry did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

One 31-year old former chef who was smuggled into Myanmar’s Wa State earlier this year said he saw his company hand over four people to Chinese police with little fanfare in September. Other companies did the same, said the man, who was smuggled into Myanmar and later rescued by a non-profit organization. He declined to be named out of fear of government retribution, and The Associated Press could not independently verify his account.

Overall, the enforcement actions don’t seem very comprehensive, experts say. The groups now based in Myanmar originally were located in Cambodia. When Cambodia cracked down on online gambling rings and illegal casinos in 2019, many of the groups just moved to less well policed places in Myanmar. Some were taken over by rival gangs.

China's efforts to repair its image have so far not made much headway, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

“You can crack down on these symptoms and the manifestations … that you can see in the borderland areas," he said, "but they’ll come back unless you really have a sustained effort."

-—-

AP researcher Wanqing Chen in Beijing and AP writers Grant Peck and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Huizhong Wu, The Associated Press

‘Impossible’ to decarbonise F1 without alternative fuels, says Nico Rosberg




Danny Halpin, PA Environment Correspondent
Mon, 23 October 2023 

It is “impossible” for F1 to decarbonise without the development of alternative fuels, former driver Nico Rosberg has said.

The sport is aiming to become net zero by 2030 and is pinning its hopes on developing “drop-in” fuels that can be used with existing vehicles.

New cars are fuelled using 90% regular and 10% ethanol, and F1 is working with Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Aramco to try to develop a low or zero carbon alternative that can supply 100% of the cars’ fuel source by 2026.

A recent report found that F1 produced around 256,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2019 – whereas the average UK car produces nearly 1.7 tonnes annually – though only 0.7% of this comes from the racing vehicles themselves.

More than 70% of the sport’s emissions come from logistics and transport – the shipping and flying of people and equipment across the 23 annual grands prix races taking place on almost every continent.

Asked whether alternative fuels are necessary for F1’s decarbonisation, Mr Rosberg told the PA news agency: “It’s impossible without that ultimately, that’s a very important ingredient.

“F1 has a very ambitious target for 2030. What they need to do is make their races carbon neutral, so the way the fans arrive, all the logistics around that, the headquarters of the racing teams, the racing itself.

“The biggest challenge is the logistics, where they depend on the airline industry essentially. Also trucking, but trucking will be easier. It’s the airline industry that has the biggest challenge.”

Since retiring from F1 after his World Championship win at the age of 31, Mr Rosberg has turned his attention and fortunes towards low-carbon technologies that aim to decarbonise industries in the race to net zero.

Most recently he has been sponsoring graduates at Oxford University to support student research into removing carbon from the atmosphere, cleaning plastic from the oceans and developing alternative fuels for ships and planes.

Nico Rosberg toured Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, which dates back to the 15th century (Jacob King/PA)

He said he will also be supporting F1 with its decarbonisation aims but that his plans are too premature to go into any detail.

After touring the university’s Divinity School and Bodleian Library, which dates back to the 15th century, Mr Rosberg said: “I really wanted to contribute after racing, inspire my two young daughters, so this led me down this path.

“Also it’s a very unique time in the world now with potential for innovation here, technological innovation, to really have an impact.”

Varun Shankar, a DPhil engineering student and part of the one-year partnership between the Rosberg Climate Fellows Programme and Oxford University’s Sustainable Development Goals Impact Lab, said he wants to use his skills to help his home country of Zambia develop without relying on fossil fuels.

He said: “I think we are still on the path of economic growth but we need to do this whilst decarbonising.

“So it’s like how can we couple these two? And think about ways that you’re still growing economically but not dependent on fossil (fuels) but dependent on different renewable sources?

“I think the Global North has already successfully developed on that front, but we need to do it in a way that’s also decarbonised.”

His sponsored research aimed to test the feasibility of using alternative fuels for shipping, which he said contributes around 2.8% of global emissions.

He said: “The shipping sector is different to other sectors because the ship lasts for 25 to 30 years.

“So if you make a decision now it has to last until 2053. Whatever ship you build today would be running until 2053 so you can’t say let’s wait until 2050 to make that change.

“Whatever change you make now will impact how much you can reduce in 2050. I think that that narrative needs to really be understood.”