Santander combines digital bank with consumer finance unit in Europe
Santander, a Spanish bank, announced on Wednesday that it would merge its digital lender Openbank into its consumer finance division in Europe to streamline its structure and cut costs. Santander announced that the new entity would manage Santander’s consumer finance operations, under the Openbank name, beginning with Germany and other markets following.
Poll shows that the majority of Brazilians are opposed to oil drilling near Amazon coast
According to a Datafolha poll commissioned by Eko (a corporate accountability group), a majority of Brazilians think President Luiz inacio Lula da Silveira should ban oil exploration near the Amazon rainforest coast, which is a sensitive eco-system and Brazil's most promising frontier for oil. The…
Brazil environmental agency approves Petrobras emergency drill results in Foz do Amazonas
Documents seen by revealed that Petrobras passed the emergency response test set by environmental regulators for the Foz do Amazonas Basin on Wednesday. This marks a major victory for the state oil company in its goal to drill in this environmentally sensitive area. The company's long-awaited drilling…
Palm oil prices end lower due to weakness in soyoil at Dalian and Chicago exchanges
Malaysian palm futures ended lower on Thursday. The contract matched the losses of soyoil futures at Dalian, Chicago and Dalian. The benchmark palm-oil contract for December delivery at the Bursa Malaysia derivatives exchange lost 41 Malaysian Ringgit (0.92%) to $4,434 ringgit (1,057.22) per metric ton.
Palm oil drops on Dalian and Chicago Exchanges due to weakness in soyoil
Malaysian palm futures continued to lose on Thursday, wiping out the gains of the previous session, as the contract tracked the losses in soyoil futures at Dalian and Chicago. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange had fallen 48 Malaysian Ringgits, or 1.07% to 4,427 Malaysian Ringgit ($1,055.56) per metric ton.
Petrobras passes key test for Amazon exploration license
The Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras concluded an emergency drill on Wednesday in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, according to the company and Brazil’s environmental agency. This was one of the last steps required to secure the controversial exploration license for the mouth of Amazon river.
Climate group: Methane emissions in Brazil's beef-rich country are increasing
Brazil's methane emission increased by 6% between the years 2020 and 2023. The world's biggest beef exporter released 21,1 million tons of this potent greenhouse gas. This was the second highest level in history. According to a report released on Wednesday by the Climate Observatory, 34 of Brazil's…
Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world. Methane emission levels are rising.
According to a study released by the Climate Observatory on Wednesday, three-fourths of Brazil's methane gas emissions were linked to beef and dairy cattle production, which accounted for 14.5 million tons of total emissions in 2023. This is the equivalent of 406 millions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent.
Data center owners ask US Treasury to maintain renewable energy subsidy regulations
The Data Center Coalition, which includes Google, Amazon, and Microsoft as data center owners, has called on U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, to maintain existing rules regarding wind and solar energy subsides, stating that they have allowed the industry to grow rapidly and remain ahead of China's competition.
Amazon rainforest is threatened by the axing of ministries, say indigenous Ecuadorians
Noboa announced that in July, more than a half dozen ministries would be combined. The number of ministries will drop from 20 to 14. This is an effort to reduce public spending. The Ministry of Women and Human Rights has also been folded into the Ministry of Government. Approximately 5,000 employees were laid off.
AI revolution to transform Europe's outdated power plants
Microsoft and Amazon are looking to convert some of Europe's old coal and gas-fired power plants into data centres with ready access to electricity and water. Engie in France, RWE in Germany, and Enel in Italy are all looking to capitalize on the surge of AI-driven energy demands by converting their old power plants into data centres…
Clean-energy supporters blast US budget as a setback
Clean energy advocates decried Thursday the House of Representatives' final passage of the President Donald Trump tax cut bill as a reverse in the energy transition. Meanwhile, fossil fuel interests celebrated. The bill now goes to Trump's desk. Trump is expected sign the bill on Friday. The law…
Petroperu In Talks to Find Amazon Oil Block Partner
Peru's state-run oil company Petroperu is in talks with five firms, including Canada's PetroTal and U.S.-based Upland Oil and Gas, as it seeks a partner to reactivate a key Amazon oil block, a company executive said late Thursday.Tomas Diaz, manager of Petroperu's exploration and exploitation unit…
Exxon, Chevron acquires blocks in Brazil's environmentally-sensitive Foz do Amazonas basin
Exxon Mobil and Chevron on Tuesday took their first steps toward eventually exploring oil in Brazil's Foz do Amazonas basin, scooping up offshore blocks auctioned by the country in the promising but environmentally-sensitive area. This is the first time that a company other than Brazil's Petrobras has ventured into the biodiverse ecological area.
Malaysia PM pledges $10 billion for national grid upgrade
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's Prime Minister, said that Tenaga Nasional had committed to upgrading the national grid infrastructure with 43 billion ringgit (about $10 billion). Anwar, who opened the Energy Asia Conference, said that the grid upgrade will help the country achieve its ambitions in artificial Intelligence and battery energy storage system.
Amazon will invest $13 billion over 5 years in Australia's Data Center Infrastructure
Amazon announced in a Saturday blog post that it will invest A$20 Billion ($12.97 Billion) between 2025 and 2029 in Australia to expand, maintain, and operate its data center infrastructure. This investment is expected to boost the country's artificial-intelligence capabilities. Amazon has made its largest technology investment in Australia.
German utility RWE announces partnership with tech giant Amazon
The German utility RWE announced on Thursday a strategic framework deal with tech giant Amazon, in which the utility will deliver clean energy and receive cloud services in exchange. Cloud services include artificial intelligence and data analysis in exchange for electricity provided by RWE's solar and wind facilities.
Petrobras CEO: Africa will be the main exploration region for Petrobras outside Brazil.
Petrobras wants to develop Africa as its primary region outside Brazil. The CEO of the state-run oil company said this in a broad interview on Thursday. Petrobras CEO Magda Chabriard said that Ivory Coast extended the "red-carpet" to Petrobras when it granted the company the preference for buying nine offshore exploration blocks on Wednesday.
UN agency: Tech giants' indirect emission has increased 150% in the last three years, as AI grows.
A United Nations report on Thursday said that indirect carbon emissions from four of the largest AI-focused tech firms, Amazon, Microsoft Alphabet, and Meta, increased by an average of 150% between 2020-2023 as they used more power to run energy-demanding servers. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N.
UN agency: Tech giants' indirect emission has increased 150% in the last three years, as AI grows.
A United Nations report on Thursday said that indirect carbon emissions from four of the world's leading AI tech companies increased by an average of 150% between 2020 and 2023 due to power-hungry data centers. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. agency responsible for digital technologies…