2025-06-25 23:06
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Global carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector hit a record high for the fourth year running last year as fossil fuel use kept rising even as renewable energy reached a record high, the Energy Institute's annual statistical review of world energy showed on Thursday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The report's figures highlight the challenge of trying to wean the world economy off fossil fuels at a time when conflict in Ukraine has redrawn oil and gas flows from Russia and fighting in the Middle East raises concern about security of supplies. Sign up here. Last year was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures exceeding 1.5 C (34.7 F) above the pre-industrial era for the first time. BY THE NUMBERS The world saw a 2% annual rise in total energy supply in 2024, with all sources of energy such as oil, gas, coal, nuclear, hydro and renewable energy registering increases, which last occurred in 2006, the report said. This led to carbon emissions increasing by around 1% in 2024 and exceeding the record level set the previous year at 40.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Of all the global fossil fuels, natural gas saw the biggest increase in generation, growing 2.5%. Meanwhile, coal grew by 1.2% to remain the largest source of generation globally, while oil growth was under 1%. Wind and solar energy expanded by 16% in 2024, nine times faster than total energy demand, the report showed. CONTEXT Industry body the Energy Institute, which comprises energy professionals across levels, together with consultancies KPMG and Kearney, took over from BP (BP.L) , opens new tab last year to author the report. Analysts tracking progress have said the world is not on course to meet a global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 despite record amounts being added. KEY QUOTES "Last year was another turning point for global energy, driven by rising geopolitical tensions," Romain Debarre of consultancy Kearney, one of the authors of the report, said in a release. "COP28 set out a bold vision to triple global renewables by 2030, but progress is proving uneven and despite the rapid growth we have seen globally we are still not at the pace required," said Wafa Jafri, a partner at KPMG. COP28 was the United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in Dubai in 2023, at which countries signed a pact to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/global-energy-co2-emissions-reached-record-high-last-year-report-says-2025-06-25/
2025-06-25 23:05
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Living standards in Britain look set to barely grow over the rest of the decade and poorer households are likely to suffer a drop, in part due to a welfare squeeze, according to a report published by a think tank on Thursday. Median household incomes after taxes, benefits including pensions and housing costs are on course to rise by a total of just 1% more than inflation by the 2029/30 fiscal year, the Resolution Foundation said. Lower-income families are expected to see a 1% fall. Sign up here. Typical households paying mortgages will see incomes fall by 1% as the impact of higher interest rates feeds through to more borrowers. By contrast, people who own their homes outright are set to see their incomes grow by 3%, the foundation said. The biggest winners are likely to be pensioners with their incomes forecast to rise by 5%. Families with children are set to have no income growth. Adam Corlett, principal economist at the think tank, said the forecasts could prove to be too gloomy if the economy grows more quickly than expected. Low-income households would benefit if the government scraps a two-child limit on some family benefits, he said. The limit was introduced by the previous Conservative government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering ditching it. However, he has said he will not reverse plans to make it harder for people to claim long-term sickness and disability benefits which have run into opposition within his Labour Party. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/uk-living-standards-set-stagnate-rest-2020s-think-tank-says-2025-06-25/
2025-06-25 23:03
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Almost one third of small and medium-sized British employers have made staff redundant or are thinking about job cuts as a direct result of the increase in their social security bills, an industry group said on Thursday. The British Chambers of Commerce said 13% of more than 570 member firms it surveyed had cut jobs and 19% were actively considering such a move as result of April's hike in employers' National Insurance Contributions ordered by finance minister Rachel Reeves. Sign up here. "We were unprepared for the huge burden placed upon us, and it led many of us to rethink our growth plans," BCC Director General Shevaun Haviland said ahead of the group's annual conference. "As a result, our business confidence measures have fallen to their lowest levels since 2022." The Bank of England said last week that employers' hiring plans were "mildly negative" due to higher labour costs with the tax hike the biggest factor. The main response was to cut pay awards followed by headcount reduction and other measures. Reeves has said she does not plan further tax increases on the scale of last year's 40 billion pound ($54 billion) rise. But many economists say she might be forced into fresh revenue-raising measures later this year to remain on course to meet her own budget rules. ($1 = 0.7344 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/uk-employers-group-says-tax-hike-has-hit-hiring-hard-2025-06-25/
2025-06-25 22:20
BANGKOK, June 25 (Reuters) - Thailand's government is moving to recriminalise cannabis, plunging into limbo an industry estimated to be worth over $1 billion that has boomed since the substance was taken off the country's narcotics list in 2022. The push to impose new controls on recreational use of cannabis comes after the Bhumjaithai Party, which championed its legalisation, withdrew from the ruling coalition last week following Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's apparent mishandling of a border row with Cambodia. Sign up here. Late on Tuesday, Thailand's health ministry issued an order prohibiting the sale of cannabis for recreational use and making it mandatory for any retail purchase to require a doctor's prescription. The new rules will come into effect once they are published in the Royal Gazette, which could happen within days. "Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future," Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Tuesday. Three years ago, Thailand became one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise the recreational use of cannabis, but without any comprehensive rules to govern the sector. Since then, tens of thousands of shops and businesses selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand, many of them located in the country's tourism hubs. Thai Chamber of Commerce previously estimated the industry, which includes medicinal products, could be worth $1.2 billion by 2025. Unregulated access to cannabis has created serious social problems, particularly for children and young people, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. "The policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only," Jirayu said in a statement. The recriminalisation push has left some cannabis industry members like Punnathat Phutthisawong, who works at the Green House Thailand dispensary in Bangkok, stunned. "This is my main source of income," Punnathat, 25, told Reuters. "Many shops are probably just as shocked because a lot of them invested heavily." The cannabis sector could have transformed Thai agriculture, medicine and tourism, but uncertainty and policy reversals have stymied any sustainable growth, said cannabis activist Chokwan Kitty Chopaka. "The cannabis industry has become a hostage to politics," she said. On Wednesday, there was still a steady trickle of customers - mainly tourists - coming into cannabis shops in Bangkok's Khao San Road area, among them Daniel Wolf, who is visiting from Australia. "There are shops everywhere, so how do they reverse this? I don't think they can," he said, " It's absolutely insane." https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thailand-moves-recriminalise-cannabis-shaking-1-bln-industry-2025-06-25/
2025-06-25 21:51
Trump signals US could ease Iran oil sanctions enforcement Trump: Iran will need money to put country into shape Witkoff: U.S. aims to work with China on oil sanctions THE HAGUE, June 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. has not given up its maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signaled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild. "They're going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen," Trump said at a news conference at the NATO Summit when asked if he was easing oil sanctions on Iran. Sign up here. Trump said a day earlier that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, but the White House later clarified that his comments did not indicate a relaxation of U.S. sanctions. Trump imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions on several of China's independent "teapot" refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil. Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, told CNBC that Trump's comment on China's ability to buy Iranian oil "was a signal to the Chinese that we want to work with you, that we're not interested in hurting your economy." China is the top buyer of Iranian crude and has long opposed Trump's sanctions on the oil. "We're interested in working together with you in unison, and hopefully that becomes a signal to the Iranians," Witkoff said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-signals-us-may-ease-iran-oil-sanction-enforcement-help-rebuild-country-2025-06-25/
2025-06-25 21:48
WLF co-founder says planning stablecoin audit, new app launch Hints firm's governance token could soon become tradable Trump family's foray in crypto has been lucrative but drawn criticism June 25 (Reuters) - Zak Folkman, the co-founder of U.S. President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial, said on Wednesday that the company will issue an audit of its stablecoin "within days" and that it planned a new app. Folkman also hinted that WLF's governance token, known as WLFI, could soon become tradable in an interview at the Permissionless conference on Wednesday, organized by crypto media company Blockworks in Brooklyn, New York. Sign up here. WLFI, which was launched two months before the U.S. presidential election in November by Trump and his business partners, has yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Republican president's family business. The business, along with other forays into crypto, has drawn a barrage of criticism from Democratic lawmakers, as well as government ethics watchdogs. Critics say it creates conflicts of interest as it is happening at the same time as the president is pulling back enforcement and easing regulations on the industry. The Trump Organization said in January that the president's investments, assets and business interests would be held in a trust managed by his children. The White House and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment. World Liberty has raised the money by selling so-called governance tokens, which give holders the right to vote on changes to the project’s underlying code and to signal their opinion on its direction and plans. They cannot be traded. During the interview on Wednesday, when Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz asked whether the token would become tradable, Folkman said, "I don't want to give away too much, but if you pay attention over the next couple of weeks, I think everyone ... is going to be very, very happy." Folkman said WLF would also be launching an app that would make crypto seamless for everyday investors to use. He said the company's stablecoin recently just got its first attestation report from an accounting firm and that it would be posted on its website "within the next few days." "We're going to have very transparent auditing from a financial level," he said. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/trump-backed-crypto-firm-is-planning-stablecoin-audit-new-app-2025-06-25/
