Category: Highlights

China continues to block Australian coal and is diversifying its import sources (long haul countries) which will support coal shipping demand in 2021.Amid the China-Australia trade dispute, China has significantly increased its imports from the US, Canada, Colombia, Russia and South Africa, boosting tonne-mile demand. We expect shipping demand arising from Chinese imports to expand further despite a forecast 6.6% contraction in total imports in 2021, as the country has completely cut off Australian cargoes with the Chinese customs authorities becoming stringent and disallowing any vessel with Australian coal to…

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More than one in three heat-related deaths worldwide can be attributed to anthropogenic climate change, according to a paper published in Nature Climate Change. In an analysis of almost 30 million deaths in 43 countries, with data from 1991 to 2018, the study found that 37% of the deaths on average were the result of human-induced global warming, with the proportion rising to more than 75% in some places. “Increased mortality is evident on every continent,” said the paper, which includes contributions from at least 70 scientists. “Burdens varied geographically…

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n a site steeped in history a few hundred meters from the Reichstag in central Berlin, an office building is rapidly taking shape that handily symbolizes how climate protection has come to dominate the political narrative ahead of September’s election. The modular Luisenblock West, which will provide working space for Germany’s Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, is mostly wooden beyond a reinforced concrete core. The individual units that make up the bulk of the building are assembled at a site in the east of the city and designed to…

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As Thungela Resources’ CEO attempts to talk up the future of the Anglo American coal spin-off, SA’s second-largest coal export destination is planning to bring coal imports to an end. Thungela CEO July Ndlovu recently stated that a “just transition” for developing nations requires the continued operation of existing coal-fired power plants to avoid economic damage. However, even in the unlikely event that coal power stations can remain financially sustainable amid the ongoing wave of ever-cheaper renewable energy development globally, Ndlovu misses a key point. In some of SA’s key…

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The days of promoting liquefied natural gas as “freedom gas” or “molecules of freedom” have ended at the U.S. Department of Energy. During a visit to Houston, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the Biden administration would rather promote and sell a cleaner version of the superchilled fuel. The statement marks a policy shift from the Trump administration, which rolled back environmental regulations and heavily promoted U.S. LNG around the world. The energy industry has been under mounting pressure from investors and governments to step up efforts to reduce…

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