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☆ Campaigners urge bond investors to shun Adani Group on green concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Isla Binnie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - An advocacy group focused on the impact of debt markets on climate change called on Monday for major bond investors to shun India's Adani Group, saying a critical report by a short-seller had undermined confidence in the company's governance. Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, dismissed these as baseless. Spokespeople for the Adani Group, BlackRock, Allianz and Pimco did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Green bonds, used to raise funds for specific projects that are seen to benefit the environment, are one of Adani's sources of financing. "The interconnected financial nature of the Adani Group makes it clear that buying debt from any subsidiary of Adani, is by extension supporting Adani's mining businesses," Haines said in the letter.

Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables but did not disclose the price. And the more we create and deploy new renewable energy, the cheaper it becomes for every Australian and the world," Forrest told Reuters after the announcement. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy in eastern Australia, he said. Willoughby said CWP aimed to give the go-ahead by March 2023 to build a 400 MW wind farm, which would cost more than A$1 billion. There are literally trillions of dollars of capital looking for green energy projects," he said.

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy has acquired CWP Renewables in Australia for more than A$4 billion ($2.7 billion), three people familiar with the deal said on Wednesday. Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables, owner of 1.1 gigawatts of wind farms and a development pipeline of 1.3 GW of wind and solar farms in Australia, but did not disclose the price. CWP was sold by Swiss-based investor Partners Group (PGHN.S), which said it built the Australian business up after first investing in the Sapphire Wind Farm in the state of New South Wales in 2016. Other companies that had looked at CWP included Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC), Tilt Renewables, partly owned by AGL Energy (AGL.AX), and Origin Energy (ORG.AX), all aiming to expand in renewable energy as Australia speeds up its transition away from coal-fired power. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs in eastern Australia to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy, Forrest said.

☆ Video shows a monstrous mosquito swarm in Australia that's so thick farmers could barely see across their porch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The mosquito population in New South Wales has skyrocketed amid a series of floods in the state. One local farmer shared a video of a mosquito swarm outside her house that was so thick she could "barely see across the veranda," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Wednesday. Fragar told ABC her family is used to bug infestations, but had never seen a swarm of this scale before. New South Wales' mosquito problem has swelled to a point where some towns in New South Wales are running out of mosquito repellents, post-bite gels, mosquito patches, and essential oils, The Guardian reported on Friday. As of Monday Sydney time, the state's emergency service has issued 101 flood warnings across New South Wales.

☆ Bleak Melbourne forecast puts T20 World Cup final under a cloud
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The tournament has already seen a slew of Super 12 matches washed out, though the semi-finals passed without disruption in Sydney and Adelaide. In the worst-case scenario where Monday is also washed out, then the World Cup will have joint winners for the first time. However, Melbourne is known for having "four seasons in one day", particularly in spring, and forecasts are often wide of the mark. "On the day, I'm sure that Melbourne is going to open up enough to have a 10-over match." Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia’s Origin Energy Gets $10 Billion Takeover Bid from Brookfield-Led Consortium
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( David Winning | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Origin is one of Australia’s biggest retailers of electricity and gas, and a shareholder in a supplier of liquefied natural gas to Asia. SYDNEY—Australia’s Origin Energy Ltd. said it has received a takeover proposal worth around $10 billion from a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc., underscoring the interest in global assets that can support the energy transition. Origin is a major shareholder in the Australia Pacific LNG plant in eastern Australia’s Queensland state, which supplies liquefied natural gas to Asia. The facility, operated by ConocoPhillips , has benefited from elevated prices of LNG after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as countries in Europe scour the world for alternative sources to Russian supply.

☆ Explainer: COP27: How climate change impacts countries around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 9 (Reuters) - While delegates at the COP27 climate conference discuss the shared problem of climate change, each country will face its own challenges and threats. In February, the U.N. climate science agency released a major report on adapting to a warmer world - and detailed how that effort would differ from place to place. While some countries see glaciers melt or coastlines rise, others will contend mostly with raging wildfires and extreme heat, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said. A World Bank report warned in September that climate impacts, including water scarcity and declining crop yields, could force some 216 million to migrate within their own countries by 2050. And in the Arctic, melting sea ice, warming temperatures, and thawing permafrost will push many species to the brink of extinction.

Summary Grain purchases for Ukraine sea ports stop, broker saysDrought and torrential rain disrupt southern hemisphere suppliesExports increasing from RussiaPARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Wheat futures are expected to leap on Monday as Russia's withdrawal from a Black Sea corridor agreement puts Ukrainian exports at risk, analysts said. Moscow suspended its participation in the Black Sea deal on Saturday, in response to what it called a major Ukrainian drone attack on its fleet in Russian-annexed Crimea. Purchasing of grain for Black Sea ports in Ukraine has stopped following Russia's decision, a Ukrainian broker said. "There are increasing exports from Russia so in the short term availability might still be there from the Black Sea," he said. Market participants will also be watching to see if the corridor deal can be salvaged, as the U.N. pursues negotiating efforts.

☆ Australia's jobs engine brakes in Sept, supports slower rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australian employment posted a disappointingly small rise in September in a hint that a very tight labour market might finally be loosening, lessening pressure for faster increases in interest rates. The miss on jobs supports the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision this month to slow the pace of rate hikes to quarter-point moves, having already lifted rates by 250 basis points since May. The jobless rate held near 48-year lows at 3.5% in September, while the participation was just off record highs at 66.6%. This is a major reason why markets fully expect another rate rise of 25 basis points in November. The RBA has argued it can afford to go slower than the Fed since wages in Australia are growing at half the pace of those in the United States, even with a very tight labour market.

☆ Water risk powers fear-then-greed coal trade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Oct 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shareholders have found a distressing silver lining to the floods that have been pounding eastern Australia. Investors immediately sent stock in both the company and rival New Hope (NHC.AX) sinking 6% or more. Such indifference to water risk in the energy sector is common, with scarcity causing problems with hydropower, and few paying attention to green hydrogen’s H2O needs. While good news for miners, it’s yet more bad news for a world in the middle of an energy crisis. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Explainer: Australia floods: why the country is battling weather again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A home is inundated by floodwaters, following heavy rains and severe flooding in the McGraths Hill suburb of Sydney, Australia, July 6, 2022. Another contributor is the Indian Ocean Dipole - a climate phenomenon that affects rainfall patterns near the Indian Ocean, including Australia. For the coming months, Santoso predicted conditions would ease as the effect of La Nina and Indian Ocean Dipole dissipate, especially over summer. Even so, the country's weather forecaster expects that with another La Nina underway, eastern Australia should experience above-average rainfall in spring and early summer. With rivers high and dams full across much of eastern Australia, any rainfall now has the potential to cause widespread flooding, the forecaster said this month.

☆ Australians rush to grab sandbags as heavy rain slams southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Hundreds of homes in southeast Australia were without power on Thursday and residents filled sandbags as an intense weather system lashed the region, bringing warnings of more heavy rain, damaging winds and flash flooding. "There is a lot more to come," bureau forecaster Jonathan How warned on ABC television. Some dams have begun overflowing for the first time in decades, and flood-weary residents rushed to grab sandbags from emergency crews to protect properties. Utility Powercor reported 475 customers were without power across Victoria after wind gusts of 100 kph (62 mph) knocked down power lines and trees. In Tasmania, emergency services have issued evacuation warnings for some residents of two rural towns in the north, while police began closing several roads because of flooding.

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