Love or country: 

UK families caught up in Sunak's plan to 

cut migration

Suban Abdulla and Natalie Thomas
Wed, December 20, 2023 



Alexandra Kimmons poses at her home during an interview with Reuters, in London

DURSLEY, England (Reuters) - In early December Rebecca Kaya was celebrating after she and her Kurdish husband Baran finally hit their savings goal to qualify for a British visa so the couple could move from Icmeler in Turkey to Britain.

A few days later Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hiked the amount a British person must earn in order to sponsor a foreign partner to move to Britain - raising their fears that the savings threshold will also jump and their nest egg will not be enough.

The new policy came days after official data put legal net migration to Britain at a record high of 745,000 in 2022, prompting the government to announce a raft of measures to make it harder for people to move to the country.

Public concerns over high levels of migration have dominated Britain's political landscape for more than a decade, playing a key role in the country's vote to leave the European Union and prompting Sunak to try to send those who arrive illegally to Rwanda to act as a deterrent.

Targeting those who arrive on spousal visas - some 65,000 in the year ending September - the government has more than doubled the annual salary a British person must earn to sponsor a foreign partner's visa, to 38,700 pounds ($49,170) from 18,600 pounds.

According to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, nearly 70% of British employees in the UK do not earn enough to qualify for the higher level in 2023.

It said Britain had one of the highest income requirements in the world, as many other countries base their levels around the minimum wage.

For the Kayas, they had pursued an alternative way of securing a visa, by building up personal savings from Baran's work in the family business in the hospitality trade, Rebecca's online jewellery company and inheritance money from her father.

They had just put the required 62,500 pounds into a UK account, where it would need to be for six months to gain a visa.

While the government has not said if the savings threshold will also rise, immigration lawyers expect it will. Immigration advice websites suggest it too could more than double, if the same calculation is applied as on income.

"We're doing everything that they're asking and ... just as we're at the final hurdle, they changed the requirements," Rebecca Kaya said on a visit to a family member's home in a small town outside Gloucester, England.

Britain's Home Office, the interior ministry responsible for migration strategy, has said the new policies will not be applied retrospectively and until the immigration rules are amended the minimum income threshold will remain the same.

"We are establishing the specifics of the policy, including how it will apply to those renewing visas, and will confirm more details in due course," a spokesperson said.

VISA RENEWALS

The new policy, which will come into force in April, has been announced with very few details, spreading alarm not just through couples hoping to move to Britain, but those already present who need to renew their visas.

Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, policy expert at migrants' charity Praxis, said the change was "strikingly at odds with the government's claim to be the party of families".

Paige Ballmi, 29, and her husband Tom, 29 who is from Albania, fear their domestic set up will be turned on its head too.

Under the rules, a first spousal visa depends on the income of the British national, but a couple's combined income will be considered for future visa renewals.

In their case, Tom, earning 32,000 pounds as a self-employed carpenter, is the main provider while Paige cares for their two-year-old daughter.

He will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in April as his second spousal visa expires, but she fears he may have to leave if they do not meet the 38,700 requirement.

"(This) is totally unfair on my child," she told Reuters in her home in Enfield, London. "She has a right to have both her parents here."

While there is support for Sunak's migration policies among parts of his party and the public, any heavy-handed move to tighten numbers also draws criticism, from businesses who say it will harm the economy, and from those who accuse the government of dictating who they can and cannot love.

On its own, a tightening of spousal rules is unlikely to hit the economy but critics have warned that some of those on the spousal system first came to Britain for postgraduate degrees, the type of skilled worker the government should want to retain.

Alexandra Kimmons, 29, hoped she would live in Britain with her husband, Ben Fong, when he completes his studies in the United States. But earning 35,000 pounds in the non-profit sector she is now considering asking family for help with savings, taking an extra job, or moving to the United States.

"Would you look at two thirds of people on the street and say you don't have the right to fall in love with somebody who lives outside the UK?" she said.

($1 = 0.7871 pounds)

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by Kate Holton and Alison Williams

Asylum seekers in hotels to have allowances cut to £1.27 a day

Charles Hymas
Tue, December 19, 2023 

Ministers are attempting to reduce the £8 million-a-day cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels - James Manning/PA


Asylum seekers living in hotels are to have their allowances cut to £1.27 a day as the Government seeks to deter further arrivals and reduce costs.

The weekly support for migrants housed in hotels is to be cut from £9.58 to £8.86 a week, for day-to-day living, clothing, travel and any leisure activities.

The allowance is calculated by subtracting costs including food, IT and wi-fi from the weekly allowance of £49.18 for asylum seekers who are not in hotels. They previously received around £1.37 a day.

It comes as ministers attempt to reduce the £8 million-a-day cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels and counter the image of Britain as a “soft touch” for migrants.

Ministers aim to shut 50 of the 400 hotels currently being used for asylum seekers by the end of this year. They have also mounted a drive to save millions by requiring more migrants to share hotel rooms.

The Home Office has justified the cut in the daily allowance by citing a change in the methodology, which bases the calculation on the reduced spending by households in face of a cost of living crisis.

A source said it meant asylum seekers were being required to “cut their cloth” to take account of tougher times in the same way as households.

A Home Office background note accompanying a statement setting out the changes said: “Like all people, asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers need to budget appropriately and plan their expenditure according to the income available to them.”



However, the move has provoked criticism from refugee charities. Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The Government isn’t doing nearly enough to protect people seeking asylum from poverty and destitution.

“They are constantly struggling to afford even basic essentials, such as toiletries and paying for travel to attend Home Office appointments, at a time when the cost of living is rising. This has a real impact on the mental health and wellbeing of men, women and children who are already coping with trauma and anxiety.

“With thousands of people waiting for a decision on their asylum claim, unable to work and forced to rely on the Home Office for everything, the payments should reflect actual need and be increased to a level that makes dignified living possible so people can support themselves and their families.”

Emma Birks, the campaigns manager at Asylum Matters, said: “The stark reality is that the low level of support means people seeking asylum are trapped in a never-ending state of financial uncertainty.”

Under the changes, which take effect next month, allowances for asylum seekers in accommodation other than hotels will rise from £47.39 to £49.18, a 3.78 percent increase, just below the 3.9 per cent CPI rate of inflation for November.

For pregnant women and children aged at least one and under three, the level of additional support is increased from £3.00 to £5.25, and eligibility is expanded to include children aged three. For children aged under one, the additional support is increased from £5.00 to £9.50.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We continue to meet our legal obligations by providing support and accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

“The level of the allowance given to individuals is reviewed each year to ensure it covers essential living needs. This year weekly allowances have increased for many, including pregnant women and young children.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Toyota's small car unit Daihatsu raided after faked tests lead it to suspend all vehicle shipments

MARI YAMAGUCHI
Wed, December 20, 2023 



Daihatsu Motor's President Soichiro Okudaira speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Toyota Motor Corp. said it's subsidiary Daihatsu will suspend shipments of all of its vehicles in and outside of Japan in a safety data fabrication scandal after an investigation found issues with 64 models that included Toyota and other brands. 

(Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese transport ministry officials inspected Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu on Thursday, one day after officials announced it was suspending the small car unit's shipments of all vehicles in and outside Japan after an investigation found improper testing involving 64 models.

The safety test irregularities earlier this year prompted an independent panel investigation, which found widespread and systematic problems at Osaka-based Daihatsu Motor Co. It is the latest of safety or other violations found at at least five of Japan's major automakers in recent years.

On Thursday, transport ministry officials began a deeper investigation at Daihatsu's offices over the systematic safety scandal that apparently persisted for decades.

“It's extremely regrettable,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday. “It damaged the trust of car owners and has shaken the foundation of the automobile certification system.” Hayashi urged Daihatsu officials to fully explain the situation.

So far, there have been no reports of accidents or deaths due to the fudging of those tests.

Toyota Motor Corp., citing results of the panel, said Wednesday that the Daihatsu probe found 174 new cases of irregularities in safety tests and other procedures in 25 test categories, on top of problems reported earlier.

“We are sorry to have betrayed the trust of our customers,” Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira told a news conference Wednesday. He acknowledged the cheating on safety testing and procedures was tantamount to neglect of safety certificates.

“We take it very seriously as the problem that has shaken the foundation of an automaker,” he said.

A lawyer and a member of the probe team, Makoto Kaiami, who also attended the news conference, said workers under pressure to meet management demands for tight development deadlines resorted to cheating, and that the management should take the blame.

The issue first emerged in April when Daihatsu reported improper testing on door linings. Problems in the side collision testing also surfaced in May, officials said. The also found data falsifications and use of unauthorized testing procedures.

The problems were found in 64 models and three vehicle engines, including 22 models and an engine sold by Toyota, Daihatsu said in a statement. The investigation also found the problems affected some models of Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. sold in Japan, and Toyota and Daihatsu models sold abroad.

Daihatsu is Toyota's unit specializing in small cars and trucks that are popular in Japan.

Toyota expressed “sincere apologies.”

"We believe in order to prevent a recurrence, in addition to a review of certification operations, a fundamental reform is needed to revitalize Daihatsu as a company,” Toyota said in a statement.

Toyota said it will review Daihatsu's management and business operations, organization and structure, as well as the mindset of employees. It will provide full support to revitalize Daihatsu, it said.

TRANS LIVES MATTER

Brianna Ghey: The young killers who tried to get away with murder

Lauren Hirst - BBC News
Wed, December 20, 2023 

Brianna Ghey was found dead at Culcheth Linear Park after being stabbed 28 times


Within 24 hours of the murder of Brianna Ghey, investigating officers had identified the suspects - two teenagers who thought that hiding the most brutal of killings would be easy.

The pair, who were just 15 at the time, were quickly arrested at their homes and taken away for questioning.

Detectives would soon unravel the crime despite the killers arrogantly presuming their endless lies would save them.


Sixteen-year-old Brianna, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight in Culcheth Linear Park in Cheshire on the afternoon of 11 February.

The teenagers, who were referred to only as girl X and boy Y during their trial due to their age, have both been convicted of her murder.

Warning: Some readers might find the following report distressing

The court heard how their web of deceit began shortly after the killing when the pair began to craft what they thought would emerge to be a subtle cover story.

Girl X messaged boy Y to say a "woman got stabbed" in the park.

"Holy crap" was boy X's reply despite the pair later admitting to police they were present during the stabbing - albeit blaming each other for the killing.

The following day, girl X messaged Brianna saying: "Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere.

"And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf."

For Det Ch Supt Mike Evans, it became clear early on that the two school pupils believed they could cover their tracks.

Girl X, who has traits of autism and ADHD, even assured boy Y, who has been diagnosed with selective mutism and autism spectrum disorder, that he would not be caught, criticising the capabilities of police in the area.

"These are really high functioning, intelligent children," said the officer, who is head of crime at Cheshire Police.

"I know people sat at home reading this will have this sort of image that they've built themselves.

"But actually they're both really clever kids and very bright, very articulate.

"I think probably their downfall has been their confidence or arrogance around the fact that they thought that they could take another human life and then thought there would be no comeuppance for them and they'd never get caught."

Once their lies unravelled, the truth that emerged was that both had a fascination with violence, torture and murder and had planned the killing for weeks.

Messages between them showed they encouraged one and other to think about how they would actually carry out a killing.

Girl X admitted she enjoyed "dark fantasies" but the jury did not accept her claims that she had no intention of turning them into reality.

Neither did the jury accept boy Y's claims that he had simply played along with these fantasies and did not take them seriously.

However, police admit they may never know exactly what motivated the teenagers to act.

Det Ch Supt Mike Evans described the attack on Brianna as "violent and vicious"

Det Ch Supt Evans continued: "I don't think many of us has ever seen the level of depravity shown and the dehumanising nature of the text messages between the two, and the hatred towards Brianna and others for no reason whatsoever.

"And just that thirst for killing from two 15 year olds - that was really disturbing.

"And we still do not know to why they've done it. What led them to want to do it?

"Obviously now they they've played on the fact that they thought it was fantasy and but when you read those messages, it was quite clear that was a plan. That wasn't a fantasy."

Brianna was found by dog walkers in Culcheth Linear Park

Both teenagers spoke about people they wanted to kill and by 26 January - just two weeks before Brianna's death - they had compiled a "kill list" of five people.

"We never built this case around a transgender element," he said.

"This was about the murder of a young, vulnerable girl. We obviously know there was that kill list, which had five people on it. Brianna was one of them.

"Brianna was the only person on that list who was transgender. This was about murderous intent for somebody."

In one message, girl X messaged boy Y telling him she was "obsessed over someone" called Brianna but did not have feelings for the teenager.

"She was really cruel. This girl was the one who has befriended and who has betrayed and who has essentially instigated this attack throughout," said Det Ch Supt Evans.

"She has been the planner behind it. She's been the person who was sending the text messages and ultimately lured Brianna out to her death and then murdered her in the coldest fashion."

Ursula Doyle, the Crown Prosecution Service's deputy chief crown prosecutor, said one of the key elements of the case was the messages, which "provided a terrifying insight into the warped fantasies" of the teenagers.

"This actually gave us detailed knowledge and insight into the relationship of the two defendants, what they talked about, the dark fantasies and the content of those messages were chilling," she added.

"It also gave us the evidence to actually see how the whole event had unfolded from the planning right the way through to luring Brianna to the park on that date.

"In fact, the way the attack was carried out was exactly the way it had been planned."

A handwritten note of "murder plan" to kill Brianna was found in girl X's bedroom

She said the investigation was one of the most disturbing cases she had dealt with during her career.

"The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief," she said.

Det Ch Supt Evans added: "I think this case is truly horrific.

"I would rather we talked about Brianna than these two individuals.

"I think what they did on that day and leading up to that day was evil. It was cruel and it was vicious.

"But as I say, I only want to think about Brianna going forward, not these two individuals who hopefully now will remain in prison for a considerable amount of time."

Jury convicts boy and girl in England of murdering transgender teenager in frenzied knife attack

PAN PYLAS
Updated Wed, December 20, 2023 

This undated family handout file photo issued by Cheshire Police of Brianna Ghey shows Brianna Ghey smiling. On Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, a boy and a girl, both 16, have been found guilty of the murder of teenager Brianna Ghey in a park. Brianna, 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife in a park in Culcheth, near Warrington, on the afternoon of February 11.

 (Cheshire Police Department via AP)

LONDON (AP) — A boy and a girl were found guilty Wednesday of murdering a transgender teenager in northwest England earlier this year, in a frenzied knife attack that was described as “horrific” by police.

Brianna Ghey, 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington on Feb. 11.

The convicted pair, who are identified only as girl X and boy Y, are 16 now but were 15 at the time. They denied killing Ghey, and each blamed the other for the fatal stabbing. It is not known which one or if both wielded the knife. Neither had been in trouble with police before.

A jury of seven men and five women convicted the two following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. The jurors deliberated for just four hours and 40 minutes of deliberations.

“You probably didn’t anticipate sitting on a case as emotionally difficult as this one," Justice Amanda Yip told them.

The trial heard that the young defendants were intelligent and had a fascination with violence, torture and serial killers. They had planned the attack for weeks, detailed in a handwritten plan and phone messages found by detectives. They had also discussed killing others, which prompted police early in the investigation to rule out transphobia as a motivation behind Brianna's murder.


Police believe Brianna was killed because she was vulnerable and accessible, with her death not a hate crime but done for “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing.”

“This was a senseless murder committed by two teenagers who have an obsession with murder," said Nigel Parr, senior investigating officer from Cheshire Police. “Brianna trusted the female defendant, she was betrayed by someone she called her friend.”

Yip said she won't be sentencing the pair this week. She said a life sentence was mandatory but that she would await psychologists' reports before deciding the minimum prison time the pair will be required to serve before being eligible for parole.

“Frankly I don’t expect them to make a huge difference to the outcome in sentencing but given their ages and the unusual circumstances of the case, I think it is right I have all the information available," the judge said.

Neither defendant displayed a visible reaction to the verdicts.

Girl X spoke to her social worker and glanced at her parents when leaving the courtroom, while Boy Y, who avoids all eye contact, did not look over at his mother as he was led from the dock carrying his Sudoku puzzles book.

Boy Y has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is non-verbal and girl X has traits of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Outside the court, Brianna's mother said her daughter's killers had not shown “an ounce of remorse” but she called for the families of the convicted pair to be shown some empathy and compassion.

“We miss Brianna so much and our house feels empty without her laughter," Esther Ghey said. “To know how scared my usually fearless child must have been when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever.”

Two 16-Year-Olds Found Guilty of Murdering Trans Teen Brianna Ghey

Samantha Riedel

THEM
Wed, December 20, 2023 



Guy Smallman/Getty Images

Two British teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 16-year-old trans teen Brianna Ghey earlier this year, in a jury verdict handed down Wednesday.

The jury reportedly deliberated for just under five hours before convicting the two defendants, who have been referred to only as “Girl X” and “Boy Y” due to U.K. privacy laws. Presiding justice Amanda Yip said she expects to sentence both youths next month, according to the Manchester Evening News. Although both are facing mandatory lifetime prison terms, Yip will decide the length of time each must serve before being considered for early release.

“I'm going to ask for some more reports in relation to each of you,” Yip told the pair, “to see what other steps need to be taken before I sentence.” Both defendants were diagnosed with separate mental health conditions after their arrest; in particular, Boy Y developed selective mutism and communicated with the court via text, per reporting from The Guardian.

Brianna Ghey’s murder trial began in late November, 10 months after she was stabbed 28 times in Culcheth Linear Park near her home in Warrington, England. As the jury found this week, Girl X and Boy Y plotted her killing for months, inspired by Girl X’s “obsession” with Ghey, which spiraled into homicidal fantasies. Although both teens were found to have planned other murders, Ghey’s appears to have been the only one they brought to fruition. Over WhatsApp messages, the two discussed how it might be “easier” to kill Ghey than another boy whose murder they had discussed, prosecutors showed, and frequently used dehumanizing language about Ghey’s gender and anatomy. In their texts, Girl X excitedly wondered how Ghey’s screams would sound, while Boy Y was fixated on Ghey’s genitals and what they looked like.

Although the two concocted a multi-step plan to get away with Ghey’s murder together, both teens turned on one another after being arrested, The Guardian reported. Boy Y claimed across five interviews with police that Girl X had stabbed Ghey herself while Boy Y’s back was turned; by the same token, Girl X later claimed Boy Y had done it while her back was turned, after her planned alibi about Ghey vanishing “with some lad from Manchester” fell apart.

After deliberating, the jury determined neither story was credible, finding both teens guilty of “joint enterprise homicide.” The U.K.-specific charge refers to situations in which one defendant may not have physically participated in a killing, but is still culpable due to their proximity. While they may seem tailor-made for the case of Brianna Ghey’s killing, “joint enterprise” charges have also come under fire in the U.K. for disproportionately punishing Black people.

Everything We Know About the Death of Brianna Ghey and Her Killers' Murder Trial

Ten months after the death of UK trans teen Brianna Ghey, her killers were convicted.

“This has been one of the most disturbing cases we have ever dealt with,” prosecutor Ursula Doyle said this week, according to Sky News. “The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief.”

Ghey’s classmates have honored her memory after her death, even though her friends say she was targeted by bullies in life. Students across Warrington wore pink, her favorite color, in a vibrant tribute on November 7 — the day Brianna Ghey would have turned 17.

Originally Appeared on them.

Newspaper headlines: Murder teens 'show no remorse' and 'surprise fall in inflation'
BBC News - Staff
Wed, December 20, 2023 


The conviction of two teenagers over the murder of Brianna Ghey dominates many of Thursday's newspaper front pages. The story leads the Daily Mail, the headline quoting the schoolgirl's parents: "What they did to our beautiful Brianna will haunt us forever." The trial of the teenagers heard the pair were intelligent, "high functioning" and came from normal backgrounds, but had a "thirst for killing".More


"We will never stop loving her" is the quote leading the Daily Mirror as the parents of Brianna Ghey pay tribute to their daughter following the murder verdict. Dame Esther Rantzen is also pictured on the front page as the paper covers her call for assisted dying in the UK. Dame Esther has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and has said she may travel to an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland if treatments fail.More


"We must give Dame Esther her final campaign victory," writes the Daily Express, as the paper calls for MPs to hold a debate on assisted dying, which is currently outlawed in the UK. The paper also features more reaction from Brianna Ghey's parents, as well as a report on falling inflation, which reached 3.9% in the UK, the lowest annual rate of price rises in more than two years.More


The i newspaper previews predicted tax cuts planned by the government next year on its front page after what it calls a "surprise fall" in inflation. The paper also suggests a boost for mortgages as a result of the cut and says its economists predict rates will continue to nose-dive.


The Times also focuses on the economy, with its headline reading: "Cheaper mortgages set to ease livings costs." The paper predicts that more than a million homeowners will benefit from the falling rates. Sticking to the homeowner trend, the paper also bills a story about automatic long-stay visas being granted to Brits who own homes in France. The move indicates a "thawing" of Paris-London relations, it writes.More


The Financial Times offers its take on the interest rate fall, also describing it as "surprisingly sharp" and suggesting it is now "more likely" the Bank of England will cut rates in the first half of the new year. Leading the FT, however, is an interview with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, who responds to allegations of an Indian assassination plot in the US. The paper reports that Mr Modi says he will "look into" the evidence.More


The Guardian leads with a report into what it says is a law change that will allow police to run facial recognition searches on a database of Britain's drivers' licence holders. It writes that the law's critics believe it "poses risk of bias and threat to civil liberties". In international news, the paper also reports on the push for a second hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Israel says 132 people remain unaccounted for after being abducted by Hamas and taken to Gaza on 7 October, an attack that provoked retaliatory strikes in the Palestinian territory that have killed some 20,000 according to the Hamas-run health ministry.More


"Sunak vows to defend Ulster veterans," the Daily Telegraph headlines a report on Ireland's intent to commence a legal challenge against the UK government over its decision to offer immunity for Troubles-era crimes. The UK's controversial Troubles legacy act became law in September, despite opposition from Dublin and all Northern Ireland's main political parties.More


The Metro leads with the release of a British billionaire after he was kidnapped in Ecuador. Colin Armstrong, 78, was abducted on Saturday from a farm he owned near the city of Guayaquil. Accompanying the story is a photo of Armstrong and his girlfriend, as well as a photo released by police of the freed businessman with officers.More


The Sun reports that Bargain Hunt's Charles Hanson has been charged "following a police probe into domestic abuse allegations". Also on the front page, the Sun says that Josie Gibson is the frontrunner to replace Holly Willougby on Dancing On Ice.


It's an apocalyptic front page for the Daily Star as it leads with a global warming warning, suggesting the intestinal gas of elderly people carries some of the blame.

Dutch bank ING says it is accelerating its shift away from funding fossil fuels after COP28 deal
Associated Press
Wed, December 20, 2023

Dutch bank ING announced Wednesday Dec. 20, 2023 that it is accelerating its phasing out of funding for oil and gas exploration and production activities while it increases financing for renewable energy. 

(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch bank ING announced Wednesday that it is accelerating its phasing out of funding for oil and gas exploration and production activities while it increases financing for renewable energy.

ING has faced fierce criticism from Dutch climate activists for its funding of fossil fuel companies.

The ING announcement came a week after nearly 200 countries at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai agreed to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels in a document that critics said contained significant loopholes.


ING said its loans to oil and gas exploration and production activities will be cut by 35% by 2030 and 10 years later “the financed emissions linked to our portfolio will be reduced to zero.” Meanwhile, the bank said, it will raise financing of renewable power generation to 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) annually by 2025 from 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in 2022.

“The world needs energy, but still too much of that is coming from fossil fuels," ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk said in a statement.

Greenpeace in the Netherlands called the announcement a “step in the right direction,” but warned that “our planet is on fire, let's be honest: only stepping away from the fire is not enough as long as you keep fanning the flames.”



2024 will put COP28’s goals to the test
Tim McDonnell
Wed, December 20, 2023 at 


The Facts

The headline-grabbing promise of the COP28 agreement — that countries will endeavor to “transition away from fossil fuels” — doesn’t come with a specific deadline. But another part of the agreement does. The deal says annual global greenhouse emissions need to peak by 2025 to stay within the global warming limit of 1.5 C. That means for the biggest emitters, 2024 will be a critical turning point for the energy transition, in which it will either speed up or miss the window of opportunity to keep 1.5 C within reach.
Tim’s view

This year was a challenging one for the energy transition, pitting the human and economic costs of climate change against the big picture conditions of the global economy — war and nationalism, high inflation and interest rates — that tend to favor the fossil-fuel status quo. Those headwinds are unlikely to let up in 2024. These are the big questions that will shape whether COP28’s aspirations will remain within reach.

Will global climate trade wars continue to heat up? Next year will be the first that European importers of industrial products like aluminum and fertilizer will need to report the carbon footprint of those goods. That reporting requirement will put pressure on suppliers around the world to start to decarbonize or risk losing market access when the EU’s carbon border tariff goes into full effect in 2026. The U.K. has outlined plans for its own version, and expect to see more political momentum to erect similar barriers in the United States. Meanwhile, Western companies and governments will continue to try to undermine China’s vise grip on the supply chains for critical minerals and clean energy hardware, which could drive prices up in the near term, especially if Beijing weighs additional export restrictions of its own.


Can clean-energy investors recover their nerves? Even though the costs of solar power hardware have fallen to record lows, and there have never been more government incentives for clean energy, investment in the sector is at risk of stalling out. Rising borrowing costs make the economics of renewable energy projects less attractive, and U.S. regulators are weighing new banking rules that could restrict lending even more. Share prices of clean energy companies have suffered this year, and in 2024 global clean energy investment could fall 9%, according to a forecast this week by the Swedish bank SEB. But the story isn’t all bad. Climate tech is drawing a growing share of venture capital investment, and there is enormous appetite from high-emitting companies to acquire decarbonization solutions. Climate removal tech had a banner year in 2023, and will probably have another in 2024. Investment in clean energy manufacturing facilities in the U.S. has been growing steadily and will likely continue next year as well.


Will EVs reach a sales tipping point or sit on dealer lots? Starting Jan. 1, most electric vehicles for sale in the U.S. will lose eligibility for the full $7,500 tax credit they qualified for this year, as rules to exclude China-produced components become more strict. Sales are expected to continue rising anyway, but at a slower pace, according to BloombergNEF: A 32% gain in 2024, compared with 47% in 2023. That leaves major automakers in a bind, as they struggle to set the right pace for their EV investments. EVs are piling up on dealership lots. But automakers are still engaged in a protracted price-cutting war to defend their market share against discount EV options from China. Those price cuts, plus a loophole that allows leased EVs to remain eligible for tax credits, along with the plummeting costs of batteries, will all be wins for consumers in 2024. And they’re a powerful driver of the transition away from fossil fuels, as the electrification of transportation takes a major bite out of oil demand.


How will oil and gas companies balance current demand with long-term investment risk? biggest long-term gas contract


Can the transition survive the U.S. presidential election? If Donald Trump wins another stint in the White House, it will set up a test of how resilient the long-term energy transition is to short-term politics. Clean energy is much cheaper than it was during Trump’s first term, and the Inflation Reduction Act has driven a surge in onshoring and re-industrialization that make the economic benefits of the transition much more tangible to more voters. So to some extent, there may be a limit to how much damage Trump can do. But there are plenty of areas where his administration could impede climate progress: Trump may be unwilling or uninterested in finding a bipartisan solution to permitting reform; he could toss or simply not enforce Biden-era emissions regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency; and could withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and from climate-focused trade deals with the EU.
The View From India

For countries in the global south, a key determinant of when they’ll hit peak emissions is foreign investment and financial aid. The COP28 agreement was roundly criticized by developing country governments for being vague and noncommittal about climate finance, essentially letting the U.S. and other rich big emitters off the hook for underwriting developing countries’ adoption of clean energy. The UAE and other Gulf oil exporters, meanwhile, seem more than happy to fill that development finance void with investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, for example with a $50 billion investment to build the world’s largest oil refinery in India. If the U.S. can’t step up its climate finance game, in other words, it risks not just undermining decarbonization in the countries with some of the fastest growing populations and energy demand, but also giving up significant geopolitical leverage.




The Secret Weapon of Climate Negotiations: Language
Genevieve Guenther
Tue, December 19, 2023 


In the week since the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties, or COP28, climate talks wrapped up, media coverage of the outcome has been largely positive. That coverage has focused on the statement produced at the end of the conference, which “calls on” participating nations to “contribute” to the “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems.” This marks the first time since the inaugural COP of 1995 that a final text actually mentions the words “fossil fuels.” Not even the 2015 Paris Agreement acknowledged that coal, oil, and methane gas are the root causes of climate change.

Insofar as commentators have criticized the consensus text negotiators reached in Dubai last week, they’ve noted that it lacks both ambition and teeth, since it calls merely for a “transition away” from fossil energy, when it should call for “drastic immediate emission cuts and binding commitments from the largest contributors of the climate crisis to finance loss and damages” and adaptation, as Greta Thunberg put it.

But the problem with the outcome of COP28 is not only that it’s weak. It’s that the statement is a masterclass in propaganda, upholding two prevalent and pernicious forms of greenwashing that support expanded coal, oil, and gas production: the false claim that the world can continue to use fossil fuels and still halt global heating and the equally false, if more subtle, claim that fossil-energy companies are trustworthy partners in the fight to preserve a livable climate. The positive coverage of COP28 shows that this greenwashing has succeeded in obscuring what really happened in Dubai.

How does a text that calls on nations to contribute to the “transitioning away from fossil fuels” uphold the idea that the world can continue to use them? That seems like a paradox. Yet this is the paradox inherent to greenwashing itself. Actions to uphold the fossil fuel status quo are trusted because they look like efforts to make change.

This dynamic is front and center in the COP28 decision text. First, let’s look at what the text demands: It “calls on” parties (i.e., nations who are “party” to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change) to “contribute to ... transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems.” This may sound robust, but under UNFCCC guidelines, the verb “calls on” is the weakest possible request to the parties. It is truly a take-it-or-leave-it suggestion. And the text never defines what counts as a “contribution” to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Could a government merely establish a task force to study low-carbon energy systems and count that as a contribution? Going by this text, yes!

This same vagueness bedevils the text’s language on coal power, which “calls on” parties to contribute to “accelerating efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power.” There are many levels of delay here: First, nations must respond to the call, then they must contribute to “accelerating efforts,” and then those efforts will move “towards” (but not achieve) the “phase down” rather than the “phaseout” of unabated coal power. (“Phaseout” implies eventually ceasing entirely; “phase down” does not.) It is worth noting also that “unabated” is yet another undefined term, implying that coal that is abated, i.e., that is offset somehow, is OK. This allows countries to claim without verification that they have offset their climate pollution.

So, yes, COP28 negotiators agreed on “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” but the vagueness of that goal, and its position at the end of a series of delaying steps, enables the governments involved to continue to promote expanded coal, oil, and gas production while still claiming to be following the letter of the text.

Even worse, the text actually provides support for fossil fuels when it “recognizes that transitional fuels can play a role in facilitating the energy transition while ensuring energy security.” Of course, providing parties with maximum interpretive flexibility, the text does not define “transitional fuels,” but historically methane gas has been represented as a “transition fuel” because it puts less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than coal does.

Methane gas is itself a fossil fuel and a significant contributor to climate change; in the short term it forces more global heating than carbon dioxide does. Recent scientific studies have shown that when leaks from methane gas extraction, refining, and combustion are accounted for, methane gas is actually worse for the climate than coal. So any text that calls methane gas an element of the transition away from fossil fuels is in effect justifying many billions of tons more greenhouse gas pollution, virtually guaranteeing that the world will not achieve net-zero emissions in time to halt warming well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Of course the United Arab Emirates, the host country of the conference, and Sultan Al Jaber, its president, celebrated the outcome as a great victory, calling it the “UAE Consensus” that will guide international climate action moving forward. Al Jaber called the text drafted at COP28 a “historic achievement” and a “paradigm shift.” This self-promotion is not just political theater but also the second form of greenwashing that currently retards progress in phasing out fossil fuels: the pretense of oil and gas executives and companies that they’re trustworthy partners in the energy transition.

Al Jaber is the CEO of Adnoc, the UAE’s state oil company. His job as an oil baron has made the outcome of COP28 appear all the more impressive and trustworthy in some climate coverage. Yet Al Jaber’s Adnoc is not moving away from oil and gas. It may drill a full 42 percent more than it is currently drilling overall by 2030, according to independent analysts. And, as The New York Times reported, the conference Al Jaber presided over is now being praised by fossil fuel companies for having no impact on their capacity to sell coal, oil, and gas. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister in particular celebrated the fact that “dictating” targets for reducing emissions or halting global heating at a certain temperature “has been buried” at COP28 and that his country and its concerns “were given priority that I don’t think I have ever seen.” The petrostate hosts of the climate talks were not allied with nations calling for a phaseout of fossil fuels—what the science says must happen if the world is to preserve a mostly livable climate—but a partner to the other petrostates that share its business interests.

What does this say about how to understand the language of climate politics? Moving forward, journalists—and citizens as well—should recognize that oil and gas producers increasingly sound like climate advocates, using the same words and phrases that call for the end of the fossil fuel era. This is their new greenwashing strategy. It is all the more important never to take anyone’s words at face value, but to interpret them in the context of an entire statement—whether an industry advertisement, a think-tank report, or a text from U.N. climate talks—assessing that statement in relation to both the latest climate science and actual industry investments. Propaganda shouldn’t be amplified. It should be exposed.

Climate advocates can take a slightly different tack. If fossil fuel producers are appropriating the language of advocates for their greenwashing, advocates can steal their language right back again. As Bill McKibben said in his commentary on COP28: The phrase “transition away from fossil fuels” is now “a tool for activists to use henceforth.” No longer are the hippies the only ones saying that the fossil fuel era must end. The world’s nations have now publicly acknowledged that too, giving advocates new legitimacy and power in “every discussion from now on—especially the discussions about any further expansion of the fossil fuel energy,” as McKibben put it.

Anyone who cares about the future can get even more targeted by grasping one little word out of the COP28 text as a rhetorical weapon against fossil fuel propaganda: the word “away.” That evocative word, which describes leaving something behind, offers civil society and governments a hard benchmark for both climate speech and climate action. Does that speech and action sustain, justify, excuse, or promote fossil fuels? Or does it transition, move, innovate, or legislate away from them? These questions can be answered with a clarity that not even the phrase “phaseout” can provide. The text countries agreed on at COP28 may be a masterclass in greenwashing, but it may also contain the seeds of its own undoing.

World’s largest underwater power cable connecting two major countries is officially complete — here’s how many homes it could power

Erin Feiger

TCD
Wed, December 20, 2023 

While much of what lurks under the water’s surface remains a mystery, one new underwater inhabitant is well known and comes with a big announcement.

Testing and installation of The Viking Link Interconnector, the world’s longest onshore and subsea power cable, is complete. The project is a joint venture between the U.K.’s National Grid and Denmark’s Energinet and was designed and installed by Italy-based contractor Prysmian Group, according to Electrek.

​​Prysmian Group manufactured the cables at its factory in Arco Felice, near Naples, and they were laid by the vessels Cable Enterprise and Leonardo da Vinci, in the latter’s first offshore campaign.

Reporting by reNews.Biz stated that the system is designed to increase access to renewable and sustainable energy sources for more than 1.4 million homes.

The Viking Link website says the cable is approximately 475 miles long and will allow for the exchange of electricity between the U.K. and Denmark. Once online, the website claims: “The interconnector will enable the more effective use of renewable energy, access to sustainable electricity generation and improved security of electricity supplies. It will benefit the socio economy of both countries.”

The switch away from polluting dirty energy sources to clean, renewable energy is crucial in the fight to stop the dangerous overheating of our planet. Projects like this go a long way in the global effort to reach net-zero energy.

The interconnector is due to come online later this year, and its creators are understandably proud.

“This important milestone confirms Prysmian’s reliability in executing complex turn-key projects,” Hakan Ozmen, executive vice president of Projects BU, Prysmian Group, said in a press release, adding, “We are committed to supporting countries in achieving their sustainability goals and we are proud of our long-standing relationship with National Grid and Energinet that will help the U.K. and Denmark to significantly reduce their carbon emissions.”

In National Grid’s announcement of the completion, Rebecca Sedler, Managing Director for Interconnectors, said: “This is a fantastic moment for the U.K. and Denmark, and a key milestone for the world record project, as we join the electricity networks of our two countries for the first time … Interconnectors bring huge benefits to the U.K., acting as clean energy super-highways, allowing us to move surplus green energy from where it is generated to where it is needed the most.”

Bloomberg: Tankers carrying 5 million barrels of Russian oil fail to reach India

Martin Fornusek
Wed, December 20, 2023 

Six vessels carrying almost 5 million barrels of Russian oil failed to reach their destinations in India, some idling kilometers off the coast for weeks without providing a reason, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 20.

Recent U.S. sanctions targeting the violators of the $60-per-barrel price cap could partially be the reason, the news outlet speculated.

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the NS Century ship, belonging to the Russian Sovcomflot shipping company, on Nov. 16 for violating the price cap.


Two days later, the vessel halted south of Sri Lanka while carrying Russian oil to the Indian port of Vadinar, Bloomberg wrote.

In the past week, NS Century was later reportedly joined by two other Sovcomflot-owned tankers carrying oil to Vadinar.

Two more tankers heading to another Indian port, Paradip, also came to a sudden stop before reaching their destinations, and another ship may soon join them, according to Bloomberg.

Five of the listed vessels belong to Sovcomflot.

Both the U.S. and the EU began ramping up sanctions to enforce the price cap on Russian seaborne crude. The measure was imposed last year to limit Moscow's oil revenue without destabilizing global markets.

Although Russia managed to largely avoid the cap in recent months by using a fleet of uninsured "ghost" tankers, Russian oil and gas profits dropped by 41% in 2023 amid tightening sanctions.

With the West weaning itself off Russian oil, Moscow turned to new markets like China and India, offering discount prices.

India is an especially important customer for Russia, as it has been buying more than 60% of Russia's seaborne oil, making it the second buyer of Russian seaborne crude after China.

5 million barrels of Russian oil on the way to India never arrived
Phil Rosen
Wed, December 20, 2023 

Millions of barrels of Russian oil heading to India never reached their destination, per Bloomberg.

The tankers holding the cargoes are now idling at sea.

US sanctions on Russia may be part of why the ships never completed their deliveries.

Roughly five million barrels of Russian oil that was on the way to India never reached their destination, according to a Bloomberg report.

The cargoes of Russia's Sokol grade crude were supposed to arrive over the past four weeks, but instead the relevant tankers are idling at sea, miles out from their intended ports.

It's unclear why the ships haven't arrived, per the report, but sanctions on sellers moving Russian crude above the $60 price cap set by G7 nations may be part of the explanation.

The US Treasury has sanctioned eight ships tied to the crude cargoes since October, with six of them owned by Russia's Sovcomflot PJSC.

One vessel, which was headed to the port Vadinar in India, has been idle since November 16 near Sri Lanka, Bloomberg reported. Two more Sovcomflot ships heading to the same place have joined it in the past week.

Meanwhile, three other ships heading to the Paradip port in east India should have arrived by now but have not.

The issue comes as Russia's weekly oil flows rose to the highest level in five months in the seven days up to December 10, Bloomberg shipping data showed. Exports in that stretch hit 3.76 million barrels a day.

That increase comes as OPEC+ have committed to reducing crude production to help stabilize prices. The group plans to cut production by a total of 2.2 million barrels a day through the first quarter of 2024, with some of that coming from Russia.

Oil prices have softened over recent weeks amid a US production boom and an uncertain demand outlook. On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate moved 1.69% higher to $75.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 1.51% to $80.46 a barrel.


Russia’s Crude Flows Stay Strong Despite Baltic Port Stoppage

Julian Lee

BLOOMBERG
Tue, December 19, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- Russia’s seaborne crude exports climbed again on a four-week average basis, despite a dip in weekly flows driven by a brief pause in shipments from the Baltic port of Primorsk.

About 3.28 million barrels a day of crude were shipped from Russian ports in the four weeks to Dec. 17, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg show. That was up by 80,000 barrels a day from the revised figure for the period to Dec. 10. The more volatile weekly average gave up about two-thirds of the previous week’s increase, with a four-day gap in loading schedules at Primorsk suggesting planned work affecting the port.

About 1.7 million barrels a day of Russia’s crude exports pass through the Red Sea, where merchant vessels are increasingly coming under attack from Houthi rebels in Yemen. Tankers carrying Moscow’s oil are unlikely to be targeted, but that doesn’t rule out the risk of a ship carrying Russian supplies being hit by mistake.

The figure for weekly flows fell sharply, driven in part by the work at Primorsk. Using this measure, shipments fell to 3.18 million barrels a day, down by about 600,000 barrels a day from the revised figure for the period to Dec. 10.

Four-week average crude shipments were about 300,000 barrels a day below their May-June level — the baseline used by Moscow for the reduction in combined crude and product exports it has pledged to its partners in the OPEC+ group.

Russia will deepen its oil export cuts to 500,000 barrels a day below the May-June average during the first quarter of next year, after Saudi Arabia said it would prolong its unilateral one-million-barrel-a-day supply reduction and several other members of the OPEC+ group agreed to make further output curbs. The Russian cut will be shared between crude shipments, which will be reduced by 300,000 barrels a day, and refined products, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

For the rest of 2023, the reduction is set at 300,000 barrels a day, spread across both crude and refined products in undefined proportions. That complicates assessments of whether Russia is meeting its commitment to its OPEC+ partners.

Russia’s oil processing climbed to the highest since early April, making up for a recent decline caused by logistical constraints resulting from storms in the Black Sea. The Kremlin’s weekly revenues from oil export duties slipped after the previous week’s jump to the highest level for the year. From January, Russia’s oil producers are set to pay a higher output tax to fund increased downstream subsidies, which were reinstated in October after being halved the previous month.

Flows by Destination

Russia’s seaborne crude flows in the four weeks to Dec. 17 rose to 3.28 million barrels a day. That was up from a revised 3.2 million barrels a day in the period to Dec. 10. Shipments were about 300,000 barrels a day below the average seen in volumes in May and June.

All figures exclude cargoes identified as Kazakhstan’s KEBCO grade. Those are shipments made by KazTransoil JSC that transit Russia for export through Novorossiysk and the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and are not subject to European Union sanctions or a price cap.

The Kazakh barrels are blended with crude of Russian origin to create a uniform export grade. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan has rebranded its cargoes to distinguish them from those shipped by Russian companies.

Asia

Observed shipments to Russia’s Asian customers, including those showing no final destination, rose to 2.83 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Dec. 17, up from a revised 2.7 million barrels a day in the period to Dec. 10.

About 1.17 million barrels a day of crude was loaded onto tankers heading to China in the four weeks to Dec. 17. China’s seaborne imports are supplemented by about 800,000 barrels a day of crude delivered directly from Russia by pipeline, either directly, or via Kazakhstan.

Flows on ships signaling destinations in India averaged about 750,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Dec. 17.

Both the Chinese and Indian figures will rise as the discharge ports become clear for vessels that are not currently showing final destinations.

The equivalent of about 740,000 barrels a day was on vessels signaling Port Said or Suez in Egypt, or are expected to be transferred from one ship to another off the South Korean port of Yeosu. Those voyages typically end at ports in India or China and show up in the chart below as “Unknown Asia” until a final destination becomes apparent.

The “Other Unknown” volumes, running at about 140,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Dec. 10, are those on tankers showing no clear destination. Most of those cargoes originate from Russia’s western ports and go on to transit the Suez Canal, but some could end up in Turkey. Others could be moved from one vessel to another, with most such transfers now taking place in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Greece.

Europe and Turkey

Russia’s seaborne crude exports to European countries have collapsed since Moscow’s troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A market that consumed about 1.5 million barrels a day of short-haul seaborne crude, coming from export terminals in the Baltic, Black Sea and Arctic has been lost almost completely, to be replaced by long-haul destinations in Asia that are much more costly and time-consuming to serve.

Combined flows to Turkey and Bulgaria, Russia’s only two remaining buyers close to its western ports, have stabilized between about 450,000 and 500,000 barrels a day, tanker-tracking data show.

Exports to Turkey slipped to a seven-week low of about 365,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Dec. 17. They are still close to three times as high as the lows they hit in July and August.

Flows to Bulgaria, now Russia’s only European market for crude, edged up to about 83,000 barrels a day in the most recent four-week period. Flows are recovering from earlier disruption at Novorossiysk, though the halt to shipments from the Black Sea port will continue to affect the average until year-end. Bulgaria’s parliament on Monday approved a measure that will end imports of Russian oil from March, nine months earlier than permitted under an exemption to EU sanctions on purchases of Moscow's oil.

No Russian crude was shipped to northern European countries, or those in the Mediterranean in the four weeks to Dec. 17.

Vessel-tracking data are cross-checked against port agent reports as well as flows and ship movements reported by other information providers including Kpler and Vortexa Ltd.

Export Revenue

Inflows to the Kremlin's war chest from its crude-export duty fell back to $75 million in the seven days to Dec. 17. Meanwhile four-week average income rose, increasing by $1 million to a five-week high of $79 million.

The rate for December is $3.37 a barrel, based on an average Urals price of $79.23 during the calculation period between Oct. 15 and Nov. 14. That was about $9.39 a barrel below Brent over the same period.

Export duty is set to be abolished at the end of this year as part of Russia’s long-running tax reform plans.

Origin-to-Location Flows

The following table shows the number of ships leaving each export terminal.

A total of 29 tankers loaded 22.2 million barrels of Russian crude in the week to Dec. 17, vessel-tracking data and port agent reports show. That’s down by about 4.2 million barrels from the revised figure for the previous week.

A four-day gap in the loading program for Primorsk suggests that planned work at the port, or the pipeline serving it, may have impacted flows last week.

All figures exclude cargoes identified as Kazakhstan’s KEBCO grade. One cargo of KEBCO were loaded at Novorossiysk and one at Ust-Luga during the week.

NOTES

Note: This story forms part of a weekly series tracking shipments of crude from Russian export terminals and the export duty revenues earned from them by the Russian government. Weeks run from Monday to Sunday. The next update will be on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

Note: All figures exclude cargoes owned by Kazakhstan’s KazTransOil JSC, which transit Russia and are shipped from Novorossiysk and Ust-Luga as KEBCO grade crude.

If you are reading this story on the Bloomberg terminal, click here for a link to a PDF file of four-week average flows from Russia to key destinations.

--With assistance from Sherry Su.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

U.S. imposes more Russian oil price cap sanctions and issues new compliance rules for shippers

FATIMA HUSSEIN
Wed, December 20, 2023 

The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on alleged violators of the price cap on Russian oil and tightened compliance rules for insurance firms and shippers that move Russian oil. Firms from the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong have been identified for economic sanctions. 

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed new sanctions on alleged violators of a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil and tightened compliance rules for insurance firms and shippers, Wednesday.

Firms across the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong were identified for economic sanctions, including UAE-based Sun Ship Management D Ltd., which Russian state-owned fleet operator Joint Stock Company Sovcomflot owns. Also sanctioned were Hong Kong-based Covart Energy, which has increased its share of the trade of Russian oil since the price cap policy was implemented, and Hong Kong-based Bellatrix Energy.

Firm administrators were not available for comment to The Associated Press. The sanctions, which follow others imposed this year on shippers of Russian oil priced above the cap, block their access to their U.S.-owned property and prevent U.S. individuals and firms from doing business with the groups.

The price cap coalition also announced Wednesday that it will soon require service providers, including shippers and movers of Russian oil, to receive attestations from their purchasers and sellers each time they lift or load Russian oil.

The coalition will also require insurance and freight firms to share these documents upon request with entities further down the supply chain, a Treasury news release states.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the sanctions “demonstrate our commitment to upholding the principles of the price cap policy, which advance the goals of supporting stable energy markets while reducing Russian revenues to fund its war against Ukraine.”

“Participants in the maritime transport of Russian oil," he said, “must adhere to the compliance guidelines agreed upon by the Price Cap Coalition or face the consequences.”

The United States, European Union, countries in the Group of Seven and Australia, imposed a $60 a barrel limit last year on Russian oil.

Any purchases above the cap would violate the agreed-upon policy. The cap was designed to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network.

The price cap was rolled out to equal parts skepticism and hopefulness that the policy would stave off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to the price cap, the allied nations have hit Russia with thousands of sanctions over the course of the nearly three-year war. The sanctions are aimed at bank and financial transactions, technology imports, manufacturing and Russians with government connections.

SCI-FI-TEK
Scientists successfully replicate historic nuclear fusion breakthrough three times

3X IS THE MAGICK NUMBER

Laura Paddison, CNN
Wed, December 20, 2023 

Scientists in California shooting nearly 200 lasers at a cylinder holding a fuel capsule the size of a peppercorn have taken another step in the quest for fusion energy, which, if mastered, could provide the world with a near-limitless source of clean power.

Last year on a December morning, scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (LLNL) managed, in a world first, to produce a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used, in a process called “ignition.”

Now they say they have successfully replicated ignition at least three times this year, according to a December report from the LLNL. This marks another significant step in what could one day be an important solution to the global climate crisis, driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.

For decades, scientists have attempted to harness fusion energy, essentially recreating the power of the sun on Earth.

After making their historic net energy gain last year, the next important step was to prove the process could be replicated.

Brian Appelbe, a research fellow from the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial College London, said the ability to replicate demonstrates the “robustness” of the process, showing it can be achieved even when conditions such as the laser or fuel pellet are varied.

Each experiment also offers an opportunity to study the physics of ignition in detail, Appelbe told CNN. “This provides valuable information to the scientists in addressing the next challenge to be overcome: how to maximize the energy that can be obtained.”

Unlike nuclear fission — the process used in the world’s nuclear plants today, which is generated by the division of atoms — nuclear fusion leaves no legacy of long-lived radioactive waste. As the climate crisis accelerates, and the urgency of ditching planet-heating fossil fuels increases, the prospect of an abundant source of safe, clean energy is tantalizing.

Nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the sun and other stars, involves smashing two or more atoms together to form a denser one, in a process that releases huge amounts of energy.

There are different ways of creating energy from fusion, but at NIF, scientists fire an array of nearly 200 lasers at a pellet of hydrogen fuel inside a diamond capsule the size of a peppercorn, itself inside a gold cylinder. The lasers heat up the cylinder’s outside, creating a series of very fast explosions, generating large amounts of energy collected as heat.

The energy produced in December 2022 was small — it took around 2 megajoules to power the reaction, which released a total of 3.15 megajoules, enough to boil around 10 kettles of water. But it was sufficient to make it a successful ignition and to prove that laser fusion could create energy.

Since then, the scientists have done it several more times. On July 30, the NIF laser delivered a little over 2 megajoules to the target, which resulted in 3.88 megajoules of energy — their highest yield achieved to date, according to the report. Two subsequent experiments in October also delivered net gains.

“These results demonstrated NIF’s ability to consistently produce fusion energy at multi-megajoule levels,” the report said.

There is still a very long way to go, however, until nuclear fusion reaches the scale needed to power electric grids and heating systems. The focus now is on building on the progress made and figuring out how to dramatically scale up fusion projects and significantly bring down costs.

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, US climate envoy John Kerry launched an international engagement plan involving more than 30 countries with the aim of boosting nuclear fusion to help tackle the climate crisis.

“There is potential in fusion to revolutionize our world, and to change all of the options that are in front of us, and provide the world with abundant and clean energy without the harmful emissions of traditional energy sources,” Kerry told the climate gathering.

In December, the US Department of Energy announced a $42 million investment in a program bringing together multiple institutions, including LLNL, to establish “hubs” focused on advancing fusion.

“Harnessing fusion energy is one of the greatest scientific and technological challenges of the 21st Century,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a statement. “We now have the confidence that it’s not only possible, but probable, that fusion energy can be a reality.”

Ella Nilsen and René Marsh contributed to reporting