2025-11-20 20:07
Fire forces evacuation at negotiating venue Draft compromise deal does not include roadmap on quitting fossil fuels UN climate talks miss Wednesday target for a deal UN chief optimistic, but urges flexibility from negotiators BELEM, Brazil, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Talks at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil were disrupted on Thursday after a fire broke out in the venue, triggering an evacuation just as negotiators were hunkering down to try to land a deal to strengthen international climate efforts. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had appealed earlier in the day for a deal from the summitin the Amazon city of Belem, welcoming calls from some for clarity on the hotly disputed subject of weaning the world off fossil fuels. Sign up here. There are less than 24 hours until the scheduled end of the summit to find a consensus among nearly 200 participating countries. Host nation Brazil has framed a deal as a crucial step towards ramping up international climate action and demonstrating that there is broad support to accelerate turning decades of promises and pledges from COP summits into action. Shortly after lunchtime, however, security footage showed flames breaking out at an exhibition pavilion and spreading rapidly up an internal fabric shell that lined the walls and ceiling of the building, before being extinguished. Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation at the venue, organizers said. The local fire service said it was probably caused by electrical equipment, likely a microwave, and was controlled within six minutes. Thousands of delegates were evacuated as security staff formed a human barrier across the hallway. DRAFTING DOCUMENTS, DEADLINES MISSED Negotiations were not expected to resume until Friday morning, a source told Reuters. Consultations between the presidency and negotiating blocs could continue on Thursday night, subject to safety assessments at the venue. The summit already missed a self-imposed Wednesday deadline to secure agreement among the countries present on issues including how to increase climate finance and shift away from fossil fuels. Brazil circulated a draft proposal for part of the COP30 deal among some governments on Thursday, which did not include a roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Emissions from burning fossil fuels trap heat in the earth's atmosphere and are by far the biggest contributor to warming. The draft proposal, seen by Reuters, included other elements for a deal. It said countries would call to triple the financing available to help nations adapt to climate change by 2030, from 2025 levels. However, it did not specify whether this money would be provided directly by wealthy governments, or other sources including development banks or the private sector. Brazil's COP30 presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the draft text. Some negotiators said they had been working on the draft text shortly before the COP venue was evacuated due to the fire. Others said it had not been shared with them. It is common at COP summits for the presidency to thrash out a text with small groups of countries, before bringing all governments together to greenlight the final deal. FOSSIL FUEL RIFT The two-week negotiation has become hung up on two issues - the future of fossil fuels and the delivery of climate finance - that expose criss-crossing fault lines between negotiating blocs from rich Western countries, oil producers and smaller states most vulnerable to climate change. Taking their cue from Brazil, dozens of countries including both developed and developing nations have mounted a push for a roadmap setting out how countries should transition away from fossil fuels. Others, including some fossil fuel-producing nations, are resisting. The COP28 climate summit in 2023 agreed, after protracted discussion, to a transition, but nations have not mapped out how - or when - it will happen. "I am perfectly convinced that a compromise is possible," Guterres said. ADAPTING TO CHANGE Another major sticking point in the negotiations is a reluctance among some richer nations to guarantee financing to help poorer countries adapt to a changing climate, according to three sources involved in the talks. Developing countries are already deeply mistrustful of a $300 billion climate finance pledge made last year at the COP29 conference in Baku, particularly as the United States withdraws from climate cooperation under President Donald Trump. Some existing climate finance has been directed to strange projects, including some that are funneling billions of dollars back to rich nations, according to previous Reuters reporting. "Right now, our people are losing their lives and livelihoods from storms of unprecedented strength which are being caused by warming seas," said Steven Victor, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment for the Pacific island nation of Palau. "If we leave Belem without a transformative outcome on adaptation for the world's most vulnerable, it will be a failure," he said. European officials have said they agree adaptation financing is important, but that they were not authorized to agree to new targets. (This story has been refiled to say 'fuels,' not 'fuel,' in the second bullet point) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/un-chief-pushes-cop30-deal-roadmap-away-fossil-fuels-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 20:07
Soaring crypto markets highlight mainstream finance links Regulators worry run on stablecoins could hit stability Stock market, bank exposure to crypto small but growing PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency markets have surged in recent years, in part fuelled by the Trump administration's pro-crypto stance which has encouraged wider acceptance among financial institutions. With a total value of $3.2 trillion and around $197 billion of trading volume per day, cryptocurrencies represent a small part of global markets, crypto tracker CoinGecko estimates. Sign up here. But regulators and investors are still worried about whether any problems in the lightly regulated crypto world could spill over into the wider financial system. The biggest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, fell below $90,000 for the first time since April this week, and some $1.2 trillion has been wiped off the value of all cryptocurrencies in six weeks. Bitcoin , generally moves in line with broader risk appetite. Its correlation with the S&P 500 on a one-month rolling basis this week was 0.84, its strongest in six weeks, LSEG data shows. Correlation is measured from -1 to 1. Here's where crypto and mainstream markets intersect. STABLECOIN RESERVES Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to a real-world currency, usually the U.S. dollar. Stablecoin issuers hold reserves to match the number of tokens they have created, and say that token-holders can swap their stablecoins back into dollars on demand. Financial stability experts warn that a rush of redemption requests would cause a run on these reserves, affecting banks where cash is deposited, or even the assets that the reserves are invested in. The stablecoin market is dominated by El Salvador-based Tether, which has around $181 billion in reserves, of which $112 billion is held in U.S. Treasuries. Rival Circle holds $24 billion in U.S. Treasuries. CRYPTO-RELATED STOCKS Crypto stocks have soared in 2025, and more crypto companies have gone public. But pure players remain a tiny part of the overall market. The market cap of stocks in the "blockchain and cryptocurrency" and "cryptocurrency mining" category is $225 billion, just 1.8% of the global equities market, LSEG data shows. This excludes so-called crypto treasury companies, whose business model is to buy and hold crypto. While the bitcoin buyers include major players like Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab, dozens of penny stocks have this year been taken over by crypto enthusiasts to bet on rising prices. Standard Chartered estimates that a bitcoin price below $90,000 leaves half of these companies' corporate treasuries holding bitcoin worth less than they paid for it. Four of the 173 new U.S. public listings in 2025 have been crypto companies, raising a combined $1.2 billion, around 3.3% of the total funds raised from U.S. IPOs, LSEG said. BANK EXPOSURE TO CRYPTO Banks gain exposure to the crypto world by taking on crypto-linked clients, holding stablecoin reserves, or offering crypto-related services such as asset custody. Some small banks specialise in crypto, concentrating the risk, as seen in 2023 when crypto-focused U.S. bank Silvergate Capital collapsed after customers pulled deposits. U.S. regulators this year made it easier for banks to engage with crypto-related activities, pressuring regulators elsewhere to rethink their approach. Data on banks' exposure is hard to find, but what is available suggests it is small but growing. The European Central Bank said in a May review that significant institutions in the euro zone provided 4.7 billion euros worth of crypto asset custody services in 2024, up from 400 million euros in 2023. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision data shows 5.9 billion euros worth of prudential exposure to crypto in the second half of 2024, among banks from countries which volunteered data. CRYPTO INVESTMENT FUNDS The January 2024 decision by U.S. regulators to allow bitcoin exchange-traded funds unleashed a new wave of buyers, including institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds and pension funds pouring money into crypto. The number of digital asset exchange-traded products worldwide has surged to 367 in 2025, up from 104 in 2021, according to Morningstar Direct data. Still, with $222.3 billion in assets under management, crypto ETPs are tiny compared to the $17.4 trillion managed by the world's non-crypto ETPs, Morningstar estimates. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/cryptos-connections-rest-financial-system-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 19:57
DOE reorganizes to prioritize oil and nuclear over renewables New divisions include Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office DOE did not say whether jobs would be affected Nov 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday announced a reorganization of the agency that prioritizes oil and nuclear resources over offices that had been dedicated to renewables and efficiency. DOE published a new organizational chart alongside a brief statement saying the changes were aligned with President Donald Trump's energy dominance agenda. Sign up here. The chart features several new divisions, including the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office and Office of Fusion. The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which was established by the Biden administration, was eliminated. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which housed divisions dedicated to solar, wind and vehicle technology research, is also absent from the chart. The Loan Programs Office, which finances innovative energy projects, was renamed the Office of Energy Dominance Financing. The DOE did not say whether jobs at the agency would be affected, and officials were not immediately available for comment. "Thanks to President Trump's leadership, the Energy Department is aligning its operations to restore commonsense to energy policy, lower costs for American families and businesses, and ensure the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the statement. "These changes will help us better execute the DOE mission of delivering affordable, reliable and secure American energy for the American people." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-energy-department-reorganizes-around-fossil-nuclear-priorities-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 19:56
US partners to lead Bosnia pipeline project Croat caucus previously blocked pipeline approval Bosnia relies on Russian gas via TurkStream pipeline SARAJEVO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. and Bosnian officials have discussed ways to speed up a long-delayed project to build a natural gas pipeline with Croatia that is seen as an alternative to Russian gas, the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo said in a statement on X on Thursday. The officials also agreed in principle that U.S. partners would lead the project, the statement said. Sign up here. The project to build the South Interconnection gas pipeline, bringing natural gas to Bosnia from a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Croatian island of Krk, was approved three years ago in the lower house of the Bosniak-Croat Federation parliament but has been blocked by a Croat caucus in the upper house. The Federation is one of two autonomous regions making up postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The other region is the Serb Republic. The Croat faction in parliament's upper house, or the House of Peoples, has made its approval of the project conditional on the establishment of a new transmission system operator that would be based in the Croat-dominated part of Bosnia despite the existence of such an operator, the BH Gas company, in Sarajevo. But on Thursday, the leaders of five biggest political parties in the Federation, including the Croat ones, agreed unanimously on the need to pursue the project as fast as possible during a discussion with U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires John Ginkel, the embassy said. Ginkel presented them with a possibility for an American company to develop, build, and manage the pipeline. The participants agreed in principle to this proposal and committed to further, more detailed discussions. "American private-sector investors can ensure that construction of the Southern Interconnection will move quickly and will help secure affordable and reliable U.S. liquefied natural gas to strengthen BiH’s energy security," the embassy said. On Wednesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on X that continued investment in modern infrastructure, including the Southern Interconnection, is essential to long-term energy security, delivering U.S. LNG from Croatia to Bosnia and ending dependence on Russian gas. Bosnia has no gas reserves but uses natural gas for up to 8% of its energy use, with its capital Sarajevo being the largest consumer. It relies solely on Russian gas supplies which it gets via Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bosnia-us-eye-pipeline-cut-russian-gas-dependency-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 19:56
CARACAS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela's National Assembly on Thursday approved a 15-year extension of the joint ventures between state company PDVSA and a unit of Russia's Roszarubezhneft that operate two oilfields in the South American country's western region, according to a session broadcast on TV. The partnerships may continue operating the Boqueron and Perija oilfields through 2041 with the goal of producing some 91 million barrels or 16,600 barrels per day of crude, said lawmakers before approving the extension. The total investment is estimated at about $616 million. Sign up here. The agreement was signed between PDVSA and Roszarubezhneft's Moscow-based unit Petromost, two lawmakers told Reuters. Roszarubezhneft, owned by a unit of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, was incorporated in 2020 and soon afterwards acquired the Venezuelan holdings of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab as Washington imposed sanctions on two of Rosneft's units for trading Venezuelan oil. Venezuela's PDVSA also remains under U.S. sanctions, which in recent years have limited foreign investment and partners willing to do business in the South American country. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venezuela-approves-15-year-extension-russia-linked-oil-joint-ventures-2025-11-20/
2025-11-20 19:41
CARACAS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A large fire was extinguished on Thursday at a Venezuelan crude upgrader operated by PDVSA, the state-run company said, but operations remain halted while workers began inspections, according to three sources with knowledge of the incident. Incidents and outages are frequent within PDVSA's aging infrastructure, including oilfields, refineries and upgraders that are key to turning the country's extra heavy oil output into exportable crude grades. Sign up here. The fire, which erupted on Wednesday afternoon, damaged a distillation tower and nearby infrastructure, the sources said. PDVSA confirmed the incident in a press release on Thursday, adding that there were no injuries to workers or damage to nearby communities, and that the country's overall production is not expected to be affected as contingency plans were activated. "An investigation committee has been ordered to determine the causes of the incident," it said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/fire-extinguished-venezuelan-oil-upgrader-operations-halted-2025-11-20/
