It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, April 01, 2023
CHESS
Toronto to host the 2024 Open and Women’s Candidates Tournaments
by ChessBase
3/29/2023 – Toronto will host the 2024 FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates, scheduled for April 3-25, with a prize fund of EUR 750,000. It will be the first time in chess history that both events will be held at the same time and venue, and also the first time that the Candidates Tournament will be held in North America. The event will be sponsored by the Scheinberg family, as part of the long-term collaboration agreement that was announced in 2022. Press release by FIDE
Toronto will host the 2024 FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates, scheduled for April 3-25, with a prize fund of EUR 750,000. It will be the first time in chess history that both events will be held at the same time and venue, and also the first time that the Candidates Tournament will be held in North America.
The event will be sponsored by the Scheinberg family, as part of the long-term collaboration agreement that was announced in 2022. FIDE would like to thank the Scheinberg family, whose support for chess over the last nine years has made possible a number of top-level events and is going to be instrumental in staging the Candidates and Women’s Candidates in 2024.
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: FIDE is happy to award such an important competition to Canada, a country that has made significant chess progress in recent years, with more kids playing the game, more titled players, and more chess fans and chess streamers. The fact that it is going to be the first time that the Candidates and Women’s Candidates will be played under one roof underlines FIDE's efforts to promote chess, providing more opportunities and proper financial conditions for top female players. Holding the events concurrently at the same venue with a single broadcast can only help bring the Women’s Candidates to a wider audience, with a greater following.
The Candidates Tournaments will start in just over a year’s time, but I know many chess fans will already be counting down the days towards these exceptional events. Isai Scheinberg said:
My family and I are very happy that the Candidates Tournaments will be held in Canada, our home country. The Candidates has a long tradition of producing exciting and gruelling battles in pursuit of the biggest prize in chess, and I’m sure that the 2024 edition will be no exception. I look forward to seeing many of the world’s top players in action, with Toronto at the center of the chess world for over three weeks in April 2024.
A Chinese wind turbine maker just debuted Asia’s first recyclable blade
MingYang Smart Energy has launched a huge turbine blade made of over 95% recyclable materials – the first of its kind in Asia.
MingYang says it’s the “first Chinese OEM to offer recyclable blades.” Spanish-German maker Siemens Gamesa and Danish company Vestas have also launched wind turbine blade recycling schemes.
The 75.7-meter-long (248-foot-long) prototype recyclable blade was made using Taiwan-headquartered wind power material supplier Swancor’s EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting resin. It has recyclable epoxy pultrusion plates with a recyclable foam core.
EzCiclo can be recycled and degraded with Swancor’s CleaVER recycling technology, and the recycled material can be used in other industries, according to a MingYang post on LinkedIn. Swancor explains:
The wind turbine blade composite parts made of “EzCiclo” can be recycled and degraded via “CleaVER” technology in the end-of-life. The waste is turned into recycled fibers and oligomers [it’s a molecule], and the recycled fibers can be reused to [make] glass fiber or carbon fiber composites.
Zhongshan-headquartered MingYang started wind turbine production in 2007. It’s currently developing the world’s largest wind turbine with a capacity of 18 MW.
China is the world’s leading country when it comes to wind power generation. According to clean energy think tank Ember, China generated 46% more wind power than all of Europe, the world’s second-largest wind market, in 2022.
Eight Giant Landslides in Greenland in the last 100 years
Published Mar 29 2023 -
In Greenland, there have been eight major landslides in the last hundred years. Before that, the number was zero. There will be more and perhaps bigger landslides in line with increased climate changes, new research states.
Kristian Svennevig, Geologist and Senior Researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), is behind the study of new and older landslides in Greenland.
The reason, according to the senior researcher, is not surprising given the climate changes currently being experienced.
"When the temperatures in the mountainside approach the melting point, the permafrost, which has otherwise has worked as cement in the unstable hills for thousands of years, can become pliable, and the mountainside can begin to slowly creep," says Svennevig.
This development can trigger large landslides, such as in the Karrat Fjord in 2017, which took four human lives.
Strong Criticism Towards New Environmental Regulations on Svalbard
The Norwegian Environment Agency presented a proposal for new environmental regulations on Svalbard in January. Several business and tourism actors have reacted to the process and the proposals to restrict traffic and outdoor activities on the archipelago. (Photo: Arne O. Holm)
Mar 24 2023
The government should postpone the implementation of major invasive environmental regulations until the Svalbard White Paper is to be processed next year. That is the opinion of Storting representative Bengt Rune Strifeldt (Progress Party), who is supported by the leader of Visit Svalbard, Ronny Brunvoll.
In a motion to the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) this week, several Storting representatives from the Progress Party advocates that the government should postpone the implementation of the recently proposed environmental regulations on Svalbard. The representatives believe that this should be coordinated with the processing of the Svalbard White Paper - which has been announced to be launched in 2024 and which will present the course of action of the Svalbard policy in the time coming.
In January 2023, The Norwegian Environment Agency presented its recommendations for changes in the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act and its associated regulations.
In the motion, which is to be processed in the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment, the Progress Party politicians Strifeldt, Sivert Bjørnstad, Terje Halleland, and Marius Arion Nilsen point to the fact that the agency's suggestions have led to strong reactions from the tourism industry and the local population in Longyearbyen. Central Points in the Norwegian Environment Agency recommendations after the hearing:
Disembarking in a protected area: The disembarkation of tourist businesses is proposed to be regulated in the protected area on Svalbard, so that disembarkation here can take place in 43 mapped areas in connection with tourist activities. The hearing motion will be maintained and a disembarking area will be added on Sjuøyane based on responses from the hearing. Polar bears: A proposal has been made to ban seeking ut polar bears and a requirement of a 500-meter distance to polar bears. The Norwegian Environment Agency recommends that the proposal be maintained and that a ban on unnecessary disturbance of polar bears is specified. Walruses: A ban on motor traffic in the sea closer than 300 meters from a walrus roost was proposed. The Norwegian Environment Agency recommends a new and reduced distance limit of 150 meters from the roost and a maximum speed limit of 5 knots 300 meters from the roost.
Passenger delimitation in protected areas: It is proposed that ships sailing in protected areas may have a maximum of 200 passengers on board. The Norwegian Environment Agency recommends that the proposal be maintained.
Ice-breaking: In the hearing, a ban on breaking fast ice and ice that is about to settle was proposed. Following input from the hearings, the Norwegian Environment Agency recommends that the ban on ice-breaking be limited to only apply to land-fast ice.
Motor traffic on sea ice: In the hearing, a ban on motor traffic on sea ice after 1 March on selected fjords for visitors and permanent residents was proposed, with several exceptions, e.g. to facilitate the need to get between areas and to cabins. The Norwegian Environment Agency recommends that the proposal be maintained.
Drones: In the hearing, a ban on the use of drones in protected areas and a ban on the use of drones at bird cliffs was proposed. The governor can grant permission for the use of drones, e.g. in connection with scientific investigations. These proposals are maintained. Strong criticism
Bengt Rune Strifeldt (Progress Party) is representing Finnmark in the Storting.
(Photo: Stortinget)
On behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Norwegian Environment Agency submitted proposals for changes to the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act for a hearing, of which the deadline was the 1st of May 2022. A total of 99 responses were received from the hearing.
In January 2023, the Norwegian Environment Agency presented its recommendations to the Ministry.
As HNN has previously reported, several local actors protested against the suggestions before Christmas and asked for the matter to be sent back.
"Based on the feedback we have received from organizations and industries on Svalbard, it is clear that many feel that the process has not been good enough. Many worry that the measures will be implemented without a better impact assessment," says Storting representative for Finnmark and member of the Standing Committee on Business and Industry, Bengt Rune Strifeldt (Progress Party) to High North News. If the changes are introduced, they will create great difficulties for the further operations of the tourism industry in Svalbard.
Consequences for Svalbard's tourism industry
A great number of tourism businesses and business organizations believe that the Norwegian Environment Agency's proposal has serious shortcomings. They think that the Instruction for Official Studies has not been followed, that sufficient impact analyses have not been carried out, and that the basis of figures is incorrect. It is also claimed that the tourism industry has not been involved, writes the Storting representatives and add:
All industry actors strongly criticize the proposals and believe that if the changes are introduced, they will create great difficulties for the further operations of the tourism industry in Svalbard. We emphasize that cruise expeditions will especially be impacted, while the large conventional cruise vessels will not be affected to the same degree.
The motion also points to the proposal of new field safety regulations – where guide certification requirements and restrictions on permanent residents' right to freedom of movement have led to reactions.
The representatives further highlight the major changes that are suggested in the environmental regulations. This includes bans on going ashore in all protected areas for all tourism businesses, with some exceptions, and a ban on motor traffic on sea ice after the 1st of March in Billefjorden, Tempelfjorden, and Van Keulenfjorden for both travelers and permanent residents. In addition, the Environment Agency recommends changes in the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act §30a to prohibit the seeking out of polar bears, as well as a requirement to keep a distance of at least 500 meters from polar bears.
"The polar bear is already very well protected through existing legislation and a further restriction does not seem to be environmentally justified and the proposal will probably also be difficult to comply with a control," they write.
The manager of Visit Svalbard, Ronny Brunvoll, believes that the authorities should put a stop to the introduction of new environmental regulations on Svalbard. (Photo: Private)
"Have understood the concerns of local businesses"
"What representative Strifeldt suggests is completely in line with what we also stand for. I find it curious that the government is choosing a "bits and pieces" approach to the management of Svalbard when they now are setting down the long-term course of action for the archipelago for the next 8-10 years. Especially when you know how disputed the Environment Agency's suggestions are," says the Manager of Visit Svalbard, Ronny Brunvoll, to High North News.
He points to how 95 percent of the nearly 100 responses to the hearing were negative and/or had objections.
"It is, from my perspective, reasonable to put the breaks on and take a holistic look at this."
Brunvoll recently participated in the event "Svalbard-dagen" (the Svalbard Day) in Oslo, which was primarily directed towards public management. He explains that the focus there was more openness, real participation, as well as comprehensive management of Svalbard, where all of the regulations and their consequences are seen and assessed in context.
"We received great understanding for this – now is the time to put action behind understanding," says Brunvoll and adds:
"Strifeldt knows Svalbard well and we are very happy that he has understood the concerns of the local businesses so accurately. It is not the case that Svalbard nature is at the mercy of this postponement and the time it takes to take a holistic look at the proposals in the context of the new report. I firmly believe that the benefits of doing as Strifeldt suggests will benefits the natural environment as well as the Norwegian Svalbard policy, local businesses, and the local residents.
"Should postpone invasive measures"
"When a new Svalbard White Paper is to be created, the environmental regulations and the field safety regulations should be seen in context in order to have a holistic mindset and a steady course forward," states Storting representative Strifeldt.
At the same time, the Storting representatives believe that the government must carry out an impact assessment of the suggestions for changes in the environmental regulations, and document the impact the changes will have on the fields of business, settlement, Svalbard exploitation, use of nature, and specific environmental effect/benefits.
"It would be natural if changes to the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act, which could have major consequences for tourism businesses on Svalbard, for example, are processed in a comprehensive White Paper. Changes to the environmental regulations on Svalbard that may have great consequences for the businesses on the archipelago should not be processed as an individual matter," the motion reads.
Strifeldt says to the newspaper that he agrees that a review of the legislation that was implemented back in 2002 is necessary. "Whether or not such major invasive changes are needed can be discussed if we pause and do a necessary impact assessment of both the proposals and other suggestions," he points out. Whether or not such major invasive changes are needed can be discussed.Storting representative Bengt Rune Strifeldt (Progress Party)
Visit Svalbard recently sent its statement on the Environment Agency's recommendation to the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
"Our opinion is the same as in our hearing response in May 2022; involve affected parties, have wide and real processes for participation, find solutions that protect the environment and simultaneously allow for activity. Business activity is desired and anchored in White Paper 32 (2015-2016), which still applies, as far as I know. If they do that, they will get robust and legitimate regulations. And not at the expense of nature, on the contrary, we believe that there are passable paths in the management without prohibitions and more or less automated rejections of all alternative approaches," concludes Brunvoll. "Today's environmental regulations are not sufficient"
With rapid climate change and growth in tourism and other traffic, the current environmental regulations are not sufficient to protect vulnerable nature and cultural heritage on Svalbard. Increased traffic has already made clear marks on many places in the archipelago," stated Ellen Hambro, Director of the Norwegian Environment Agency, in a press release in connection with the presentation of recommendations to the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
Preserving Svalbard's distinctive wild nature is one of the overarching goals of the Svalbard policy. A prerequisite for the mission from the ministry is to reduce the impact of traffic on Svalbard, states the report.
The Environment Agency believes that the proposals will not have much effect on permanent residents' movements compared to the current regulations. The proposal will have the most say for sea-based tourist businesses that must adapt to the new regulations.
"The focus on polar bear experiences is increasing and the Governor now considers the need for stricter regulations as absolutely necessary to protect polar bears from disturbances. In 2022, there has been an increase in the number of police reports for traffic violations, illegal motoring on sea ice, and disturbance of polar bears," writes the agency.
This article was originally published in Norwegian and has been translated by Birgitte Annie Molid Martinussen.
The Arctic Council:
Arctic Indigenous Leaders: We Did Not Shut Down
Edward Alexander is co-chairman of the US Gwich'in Council International (GCI), which is a permanent participant in the Arctic Council. His organization has kept going as well, not knowing what will be the outcome of their work. (Photo: Trine Jonassen) Published at: Mar 31 2023 - 04:54 / Updated at: Mar 31 2023 - 12:28
Anchorage (High North News): Although the Arctic Council's work was put on hold due to the Russian war in Ukraine, the indigenous working groups continued. Now they express concern about the gaps in environmental data from Russia and the welfare of their Russian families.
“Russia is a large part of the Arctic and all data from Russia stopped when the Arctic Council's work was put on hold, and thus contact with our brothers and sisters in Russia," says Gunn-Britt Retter, head of the Arctic and environmental unit at the Saami Council of Norway, who represents Saami people from Finland, Russia, Norway, and Sweden.
The uncertainty is - and has been - monumental.
"We do not know what gaps there will be in the data. We have no idea what has happened to the environment in Russia during the war," said Retter when she attended the Arctic Encounter conference in Anchorage, Alaska under the theme Arctic Council and Indigenous Identity in a changing Arctic.
Nevertheless, the Saami Council kept work going during the war, waiting to make contact with its Russian partners, while focusing on fieldwork.
The Saami Council collaborates with Arctic States, Working Groups, and other Permanent Participants regarding circumpolar relations with regular contributions to Chairship work plans.
That stopped completely.
Edward Alexander, co-chair of the US Gwich'in Council International “We hope this can contribute to the work going on in the Arctic Council. But it is hard to know what that will look like after the war. Still, we are moving forward regardless of the geopolitical situation."
Did not stop
Edward Alexander is the Co-Chair of the US Gwich'in Council International (GCI), which is a permanent participant in the Arctic Council. His organization has kept going as well, not knowing what will be the outcome of their work.
The indigenous Alaskan - a relatively tall man - is proudly wearing a vest adorned with intricate beading that resembles animal footprints, topped off with some impressive bear claws around his neck.
He explains that the GCI also kept the work going through the pause.
“We did not shut down and the projects were not put on hold, except for everything that was interactive between the US and Russia. That stopped completely," Alexander tells High North News.
He says to HNN that the GCI was directing one project like that - a circumpolar fire project - that was stopped.
Arcitc Encounter debate: Lori Townsend - Alaska Public Media, Edward Alexander - Gwich’in Council International, Gunn-Britt Retter - Saami Council, Nicole Wojciechowski - Inuit Circumpolar Council, Liza Mack - Aleut International. (Photo: Trine Jonassen)
“But we were still able to do internal work. So we cannot work with Russia, but we are able to work with documents, work with our understanding, do legal analysis, explains Alexander.
Lesson learned?
“But we still have to bring this work to the working group at some point and ask if it is accurate and if we can move forward together in this direction.”
“So and hopefully we will have a stronger Arctic Council at the end of this. I think everyone has learned their lesson. There is no military solution to the problems in the north. “We want diplomatic solutions. We do not fight with our friends to solve problems. We talk and makes compromises", urges Alexander.
After Norways program announcement last week, he is excited about the upcoming Norwegian Chairship.
“Norway have included indigenous people throughout. That commitment is critical”, says Alexander in praise of the Norwegian Arctic Council Team.
Almost all of us have people in the Russian Arctic.
Chief Gary Harrison, US Arctic Athabaskan Council
“The Norwegian team has been very forthcoming about reaching out and talking to us about their priorities, but also listening to us about what is important to us. And that is reflected in the document.”
“I hope that much of the work that has been done during the pandemic and the war will come to light and be finished early during the Norwegian chairmanship, and I hope that the Arctic officials will take a closer look at some of these projects," says the GCI Co-Chair.
Behind the iron curtain
Chief Gary Harrison of the Chickaloon Native Village and the US Arctic Athabaskan Council, is deeply concerned about the indigenous population of Russia, who lives behind the new iron curtain.
“Almost all of us have people in the Russian Arctic. We need to know how they are doing. For example, have we heard that the Russian authorities make indigenous people join the military, and this worries us," says Chief Harrison.
During the war, the Athabaskan Council received mixed messages about the indigenous people in Arctic Russia. The six Arctic Indigenous organizations that hold Permanent Participant status in the Arctic Council: Aleut International Association Arctic Athabaskan Council Gwich'in International Council Inuit Circumpolar Council Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North Saami Council
“Official channels say that everything is ok, but on the back channels we hear that it is not and we hear about defectors," the Chief says with a worried face.
Last November, two Russian men fled across the Bering Strait from Siberia to avoid being drafted. The men are indigenous to Siberia.
Worried
Edward Alexander shares the Chief's concern.
“Our statement a year ago included a concern for indigenous peoples in Russia. We are worried that they are being recruited by the Russian military and exploited in the war. And we are worried about whether or not they are able to speak honestly about the war.”
The militarization of their land is also a source of concern.
Chief Gary Harrison of the Chickaloon Native Village and the US Arctic Athabaskan Council, is deeply concerned about the indigenous population of Russia. (Photo: Trine Jonassen)
“We are really concerned about the war in a broader sense in how it is changing the discussion to Arctic military security rather than building peace and diplomacy. So we want not only the absence of conflict but on building peace as well," states Alexander. NATO in the mix
Security in the High North is tense. On Thursday, all 30 NATO countries had accepted Finland's NATO application, strengthening the defense alliance in the north.
With the new addition, NATO will have greater influence in the Arctic. That makes the Arctic Council even more important, according to Gunn-Britt Retter in the Saami Council.
Edward Alexander agrees.
“When we think about hard security issues whether it is in NATO or the States or Canada - or in Russia - if it does not include Indigenous people at those tables, it is going to have negative impacts and implications for Indigenous people. So NATO should include us in their discussions," says Alexander.
“NATO should ensure that they have the consent of the indigenous people of the Arctic, so things are done in an ethical way. And also in a way that promotes a better relationship for long-term security. If they are really interested in the people's security, they should talk to the people," states Alexander.
He states that you cannot protect an area without talking to its indigenous habitants. We need to get back to some of the things that the Arctic Council does bestChief Gary Harrison, US Arctic Athabaskan Council
“Going forward, what is NATO's plan to be inclusive of indigenous people and our security concerns?” wonders Edward Alexander.
After the war
“What does the Council need to focus on when it is back to normal?”
“I do not know about the Arctic Council, but the first thing that I want to do is to speak to our indigenous people over in Russia and hopefully find them in a good way," says Chief Gary Harrison in a quiet voice, looking over his glasses.
“After that, we need to get back to some of the things that the Arctic Council does best, which is to work with the indigenous peoples' knowledge so that we can have a better future for everyone”, concludes the Chickaloon Chief, pointing at the climate crisis that impacts the Arctic as we speak.
Most importantly, to keep the dialogue open.
“When things come back to normal we will be able to continue the work in the Council and maybe make a difference in what is happening in the Arctic. Maybe a dialogue can help us out of this situation”, finishes Chief Gary Harrison.
Still with a worried face.
Arctic Sea Ice Likely Irrevocably Lost Norwegian Scientists Conclude
A patch of ice in the Fram Strait east of Greenland.
(Source: Fruchtzwerg World under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Published at: Mar 24 2023
Researchers have identified the mechanism leading to the rapid collapse of sea ice extent between 2005 and 2007. More ocean heat in ice formation areas in Siberia resulted in weaker ice, which was more prone to being ejected from the Arctic Basin through the Fram Strait. This ice loss is likely irreversible, the study concludes.
A new study published in the journal Nature by scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø has concluded that Arctic sea ice underwent significant changes during the unseasonably strong melt season in the summers of 2005 and 2007.
To this day the sea ice has not recovered. It remains only around half as thick as prior to 2005 and is now much younger with half the thick multi-year ice having been lost during that period.
The researchers conclude that the sea ice regime in the Arctic changed irreversibly in 2007. Arctic sea ice entered a new state following the record-melt in 2007, the scientists explain. Rather than a gradual change in sea ice pattern, 2007 represents a “stepwise shift” to a new normal.
While before 2007 sea ice was thicker and deformed, it transitioned to thinner and uniform ice cover since then. Prior to the melt event ice between 3-4 meters thick and more than 4 years old dominated the Arctic Ocean.
Following the summer of 2007 ice coverage between 1-1.5m thick and less than three years old began to be the norm. Sea ice has not recovered in the 15 years since.
“The time series clearly shows that the change of the thickness distribution has not been a gradual process but that a distinct shift from thick and deformed ice regime to thinner and more uniform ice regime occurred around 2007,” the study’s lead author Hiroshi Sumata states.
Younger ice leaves Arctic too quickly
During the summers of 2005 and 2007, Arctic sea ice was hit by a “one-two punch” the study concludes, reducing the amount of the thickest ice above 4 meters by 52 percent.
First in 2005 and then again in 2007 the ice’s residence time, i.e. how long it remains in the Arctic Basin, was reduced due to increased outflow through the Fram Strait.
Illustration showing sea ice concentration and ice transported out of the Arctic Basin through the Fram Strait. (Source: Hiroshi Sumata, et al.)
This transition was associated with an unusually warm Arctic summer in 2005 and 2007 and the beginning of an accelerated accumulation of heat in the waters off the coast of Siberia and Alaska.
This in turn led to new ice from these waters becoming weaker and spending less time in the Arctic before being transported out of the Arctic Basin by the Transpolar Drift (TPD), an ocean current.
“Before the shift, sea ice formed in and offshore of the Siberian shelves overwintered (spent about 15 months) in this area before entering the TPD during which the ice thickened and increased its deformed fraction. After the shift, ice stayed in this area only about 6 months on average resulting in recruitment of newly formed younger ice into the TPD,” the scientists explain in the conclusion of the study.
Simply put, newly formed ice remains weaker due to rising temperatures and is thus more susceptible to being transported out of the Arctic by the TPD.
Comparison of the period from 1990-2006 and 2007-2019 of the residence time and origins of Arctic sea ice that reached the Fram Strait. The graphic shows that ice passing through the Fram Strait after 2007 is significantly younger. (Source: Hiroshi Sumata, et al.) Monitoring ice outflow
The analysis is based on data collected from monitoring stations in the Fram Strait, the waters between Northeast Greenland and Svalbard, over the last three decades. The strait plays a crucial role as it serves as an exit point for 90 percent of Arctic sea ice.
The level of outflow and thickness of sea ice in the Fram Strait has been monitored since 1990.
The Fram Strait sees massive amounts of ice pass through every year. Between early summer and late fall between 500,000 and 800,000 square kilometers of sea ice – enough to cover Norway up to two times – leave the Arctic Ocean and enter the north Atlantic through this waterway.
BEIJING: Chinese national oil company CNOOC and France’s TotalEnergies have completed China’s first yuan-settled LNG trade through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, the exchange said on Tuesday.
Approximately 65,000 tonnes of LNG imported from the UAE changed hands in the trade, it said in a statement. TotalEnergies confirmed to Reuters that the transaction involved LNG imported from the UAE but did not comment further.
CNOOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has placed an emphasis on settling oil and gas trades in yuan in recent years in a bid to establish its currency internationally and to weaken the dollar’s grip on world trade.
Russia has increasingly embraced the yuan amid Western sanctions.
During a visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh in December President Xi Jinping announced that China would “make full use” of the Shanghai exchange as a platform to carry out yuan settlements of oil and gas trades.
Canada to Ask Pension Funds to Disclose Crypto Exposure
The government budget for 2023 indicates the OSFI will consult with federally regulated financial institutions on guidelines for publicly disclosing their exposure to crypto-assets. By Aoyon Ashraf Mar 28, 2023
Canada's national government said federally regulated pension funds in the country will need to disclose their crypto assets exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), as Ottawa tightens its regulatory oversight on the volatile industry.
"To help protect Canadians’ retirements, Budget 2023 announces that the government will require federally regulated pension funds to disclose their crypto-asset exposures to OSFI," the government said in the new 2023 budget plan. The federal government will also work with provinces and territories to discuss crypto-asset or related activities disclosures by the country's largest pension plans, which would ensure Canadians are aware of their pension plan’s potential exposure to crypto assets, the budget plan added.
The move comes after several high-profile bankruptcies such as the FTX exchange and the recent collapse of crypto-friendly U.S. lenders Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank exposed the extreme volatility investors face in the industry.
Some of the pension funds in the country have already felt the burn of investing in crypto. Last year, Quebec-based pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec said that it wrote off a US$150 million bet on Celsius Network. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Canada's largest pension funds with nearly US$250 billion in assets under management (AUM), also last year said it would write down the entirety of its US$95 million investment in FTX.
The 2023 budget indicated that OSFI will consult with federally regulated financial institutions on guidelines for publicly disclosing their exposure to crypto-assets, to help protect "Canadians’ savings and the security of our financial sector."
"To protect Canadians from the risks that come with crypto-assets, there is a clear need for different orders of government to take an active role in addressing consumer protection gaps and risks to our financial system," the budget said.
Canada has been tightening its regulations around the crypto industry in recent months. CoinDesk reported in February that Canada’s umbrella markets regulator, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), will tighten requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country.
Edited by Stephen Alpher.
Extinction of steam locomotives derails assumptions about biological evolution, claims researcher
The Union Pacific Big Boy Steam Engine (one of the largest steam engines ever built and still functioning) visited Lawrence, Kansas, on Sept. 2, 2021. Credit: Bruce Lieberman
When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains," the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.
Bruce Lieberman, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and senior curator of invertebrate paleontology at the KU Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum, sought to use steam-engine history to test the merits of "competitive exclusion," a long-held idea in paleontology that species can drive other species to extinction through competition.
Working with former KU postdoctoral researcher Luke Strotz, now of Northwest University in Xi'an, China, Lieberman found the fossil record largely lacks the detailed data verifying competitive exclusion found in the history of steam engines: "It's really hard to actually see any evidence that competition does play a big role in evolution," Lieberman said.
Their findings have just been published in the paper "The end of the line: competitive exclusion and the extinction of historical entities" in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
"There's always been a bias to assume in the scientific community that competition is sort of the fundamental force that drives evolution and plays the biggest role on extinction," Lieberman said. "That idea comes from a lot of different areas of research, including on the fossil record. But we, as paleontologists, have to dive down deeper into the data and analyze them."
What would the ideal "fossil record" for steam trains look like? The researchers discovered a mother lode of data on steam engines, including their die-off, in Locobase, a steam locomotive database compiled and curated by Steve Llanso and accessible through steamlocomotive.com, a website run by Wes Barris.
"I'd always been fascinated by steam engines because they're the technological equivalent of dinosaurs," Lieberman said. "They're gigantic. We infer dinosaurs made a lot of noise. We know that steam locomotives made a lot of noise, but they're no longer with us."
Lieberman and Strotz found the train database stood as an example of the sort of evidence necessary for paleontologists to conclude certain species died off due to competitive exclusion, or direct competition with other species.
"We've been thinking of trying to find a model from technology where we could say, 'Aha! Here we have good evidence for competition playing the critical role,'" Lieberman said. "We'd know when certain new technologies appeared, like the mass production of the motor vehicle and the diesel locomotive. Maybe this is a case where we see what happened due to competition. Then, let's look at the fossil record and try and use this technology as an example of what we need to see if we are going to, in fact, demonstrate competition played a role in extinction."
The relevant train history for the KU researchers begins before steam-engine trains faced competition from emergent technologies that performed the same tasks. They focused on how much tractive effort was generated by steam engines versus the newer engines that would replace them.
The trilobite Acanthopyge, from Oklahoma, in the collections of the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology in the KU Biodiversity Institute. Credit: Steven Wagner
"You start to see these new competitive challenges to the steam locomotive—first, the electrification of engines in the 1880s, and then the development of the automobile," Lieberman said. "It was no longer efficient for railroads to use steam locomotives to pull things. Then they start to become more specialized and can only thrive in one or just a few areas pulling heavy things and maybe moving longer distances."
Looking at the phase-out of steam locomotion, the researchers found evidence of "an immediate, directional response to the first appearance of a direct competitor, with subsequent competitors further reducing the realized niche of steam locomotives, until extinction was the inevitable outcome."
But the study suggests extinction can be tied directly to competition between species only under specific circumstances "when niche overlap between an incumbent and its competitors is near absolute and where the incumbent is incapable of transitioning to a new adaptive zone."
How might this work in the natural world? Lieberman cited three examples where paleontologists believed direct competition between species triggered extinction for some of the competitors. In some cases, the idea that competitive exclusion was at play has been debunked; in other examples, evidence of competitive exclusion falls far short compared with the meticulous data available on the demise of steam engines.
"One of the classic examples involved mammals and non-flying dinosaurs, where the traditional view was, 'Hey, the mammals were smarter and quicker and they dropped these dinosaurs to extinction,'" he said. "Now we know that it was a giant rock that fell out of the sky that caused this tremendous environmental damage, and bigger things are more likely to be susceptible to that. The second famous example involves trilobites and crustaceans, and the last example is clams and brachiopods."
The KU researcher said data on steam locomotives might cast doubt on the notion that adaptability in a species is a hallmark of evolutionary success. Rather, the study adds to evidence that species adapting to new roles and environments do so from desperation.
"For a time when there's no competitors to steam-locomotive technology, we see them almost diversify and diffuse into no particular direction," Lieberman said.
"But when these new locomotives appear, we see a profound shift to really active natural selection and adaptation of the steam locomotive. Often, it's thought that adaptation is a good sign for a group. But what we would argue is, in fact, when things start to adapt and shift directionally—traditionally in evolution that's not a good time for a group. We'd argue it's a sign the group may be experiencing duress or pressure from other things."
By better understanding the causes, conditions and frequency of competitive exclusion, Lieberman said it might be possible to predict what species risk extinction in the years ahead, as human-driven climate change alters and reduces habitats for the world's species.
"We wanted not just to look at the past, but to be able to predict competition," Lieberman said. "Can we look at specific groups that are alive today that we might be able to project out into the future and say, 'Hey, this thing is showing signs that it's in this danger zone already.' We can predict whether it's going to go extinct."
More information: Luke C. Strotz et al, The end of the line: competitive exclusion and the extinction of historical entities, Royal Society Open Science (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221210
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