12 Mar, 2023 14:19

Biden official gives rare praise to China

“We can all learn from” Beijing when it comes to the environment, the US energy secretary has said

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Friday that the US can “learn from what China is doing” to combat climate change. Granholm’s praise stands in contrast to the Biden administration’s recent rhetoric towards Beijing.

In an interview at the South By Southwest festival in Texas, Granholm told journalist Wajahat Ali that China has been “very sensitive” on climate issues, and has “invested a lot in their solutions, to achieve their goals.”

“We’re hopeful that, you know, we can all learn from what China is doing,” she added.

Such praise for Beijing has become increasingly rare from President Joe Biden’s cabinet. Once slammed by Republicans for being “soft” on China, tensions with Beijing have dramatically escalated since Biden took office. The US leader has repeatedly suggested that he would back Taiwan’s independence movement with military force, while allocating nearly $10 billion in next year’s military budget to strengthen the US presence in the Pacific. Meanwhile, Biden has threatened sanctions over Beijing’s alleged support for Russia, and has recently banned the Chinese-developed TikTok app from government devices.

The freeze in relations between Washington and Beijing has also directly affected climate policy, with China suspending bilateral talks on greenhouse gas reduction following a visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August.

Republicans attacked Granholm over the interview. Texas Rep. Austin Pfluger accusedher of “outwardly siding with China against American energy producers,” while Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson called China “the world’s top polluter” and demanded that the Biden administration “stop taking China’s lies at face value and hold them accountable.”

China is the world’s top carbon dioxide emitter, releasing more Co2 every year than the next five nations combined. However, although China hit a new record for coal production last year, it also invested $546 billion in clean energy, nearly four times the amount invested by the US. China accounted for more than 90% of the world’s low-carbon manufacturing in 2022, according to research from Bloomberg published in January.

(Give me a break, all in this Admin have in investments in China.)

https://www.rt.com/news/572843-granholm-china-climate-change/

12 Mar, 2023 14:43

British PM upgrades private pool heating amid energy crisis – Guardian

Rishi Sunak has reportedly spent thousands of pounds to boost his connection to the electricity grid

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has upgraded a local electricity network just to power a large heated swimming pool at his private country home, The Guardian reported on Sunday. The move comes as dozens of public pools in the UK are closing down due to skyrocketing energy bills.

According to the news outlet, engineers installed “a substantial amount of equipment” and a new connection that runs across open fields to join the prime minister’s manor in North Yorkshire, northern England to the National Grid. It was said that Sunak will pay for the upgrade from his own pocket, with costs estimated at “tens of thousands of pounds.”

Sunak reportedly bought the estate in 2015 for £1.5 million ($1.8 million). Keeping the nearly-40ft pool warm will cost him around £13,000 ($15,600) a year, according to the Daily Mail.

More than 60 public pools closed across the UK between 2019 and 2022due to rising energy costs and chemical shortages, the BBC said last year, citing data obtained through a freedom of information request. In July, British media reported that the large recreation center in Richmond, which is part of Sunak’s constituency, was one of the swimming facilities struggling to stay open.

On Tuesday, a House of Commons select committee said that “a lack of support” from the government has forced around 350 public pools to close or reduce opening hours.

In January, the government unveiled a program of discounts to help businesses cope with high electricity and gas bills. The scheme “provides long-term certainty” to those affected by the crisis, the government claimed in a statement.

https://www.rt.com/news/572845-rishi-sunak-swimming-pool/

12 Mar, 2023 12:26

India and China competing for Russian crude – media

The expanding pool of Asian buyers is pushing prices higher

Chinese private refineries are jostling with their Indian counterparts for April volumes of seaborne Russian ESPO blend oil, Reuters reported this week, citing industry sources.

After Western customers opted to shun direct purchases of Russian energy exports, China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude.

China, which commonly purchases the entire volumes of the ESPO crude shipped from the Pacific port of Kozmino due to its close proximity, is expected to import record volumes in March.

As for April, Indian independent refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy have reportedly swept up at least five of the roughly 33 cargoes loaded with ESPO crude due to their low prices. That is up from only one vessel for March delivery, its first since buying three cargoes for November 2022.

Prices for April-loading ESPO crude to India were about $5 per barrel below Dubai quotes on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis, sources familiar with the matter told the agency.

Reuters' calculations also show that the rising demand has pushed prices for Russian low sulphur ESPO blend bought by Indian refiners above the $60 per barrel cap set by the G7 nations on Russian seaborne crude. China has also been buying ESPO at above the price cap level.

To reduce the risk exposure, importers of Russian oil are using currencies other than the dollar to settle certain niche Russian crudes and are also asking the sellers to handle shipping and insurance.

According to trading sources, competition from India has reduced discounts for April-loading ESPO shipments to about $6.80 per barrel against the June ICE Brent DES basis to northern China from $8.50 a barrel last month for March-loading oil.

Murban crude of similar quality from Abu Dhabi was traded at a premium of around $3.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes on a free-on-board basis, while April-loading Murban crude is about $9 a barrel more expensive than ESPO delivered to China and India.

In March, Russian oil shipments to China are expected to reach an all-time high of nearly 43 million barrels, including at least 20 million barrels of ESPO.

(Kek, Russia loves to tell this to Bidan & Admin, plus the EU while they starve and freeze their own countries. I wonder if the US and EU realize their citizens are starting to hate them?)

https://www.rt.com/business/572702-russia-oil-china-india/