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Rio Tinto, the majority shareholder in ERA which owns and operates the Ranger mine site, has been under pressure to fund the cleanup costs. Rehabilitation costs are estimated at A$1.6 billion to A$2.2 billion, ERA said in a statement. ERA shares declined 9.8% to A$0.185, their lowest since June 2022, while the benchmark index (.AXJO) was marginally higher. ERA will also use the proceeds to partly repay a A$100 million loan from Rio Tinto. (This story has been corrected to state that Rio Tinto is majority shareholder of the mine's owner and operator, not the mine's operator, in paragraph 2, and to state that the target of the protests was the mine and the Jabiluka project, not Rio Tinto, in paragraph 7)Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Several major finance companies also voluntarily reported ethnicity pay data for the period. The majority of major finance firms nonetheless made progress in narrowly closing their gender pay gaps, according to their disclosures. ETHNICITY PAY GAPSHalf of the 20 finance firms reviewed reported varying detail on ethnicity pay gaps, with some including insurer Phoenix doing so for the first time. Where pay gaps were further broken down by ethnicity, they showed the largest pay disparities were between Black and white employees. All the employers said in their pay gap reports they were taking steps to improve diversity, particularly at senior levels.

April 4 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday will release final guidance on how clean energy companies can secure additional tax credits when investing in U.S. communities economically tied to fossil fuels like oil and coal. The boosted tax credit is central to the administration’s goal of ensuring areas long dependent on fossil fuels benefit from clean energy. It also helped secure West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin's essential support for the bill. "Communities like coal communities have the knowledge, infrastructure, resources and know-how to play a leading role in the move to a clean energy economy," U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. Those minerals are crucial to producing clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels.

Europe and the U.S. are scrambling to wean themselves off rare earths from China, which account for 90% of global refined output. Australia's RMIT University estimates there are 16.2 million tonnes of unexploited rare earths in 325 mineral sands deposits worldwide, while the U.S. Idaho National Laboratory said 100,000 tonnes of rare earths each year end up in waste from producing phosphoric acid alone. That, Adamas says, is equivalent to some 8% of expected demand for the two rare earths, vital for making permanent magnets to power EV and wind turbine motors. Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsQUICKER THAN NEW MINESRecovering rare earths from waste is much quicker than setting up new projects from scratch. The company will extract phosphorus for fertiliser, fluorine and gypsum in addition to rare earths.

April 3 (Reuters) - Membership in the United Auto Workers union rose 3% in 2022 to 383,000 as it works to organize workers in battery plants and other electric vehicle components. Fain said last week the union was ready to go to war against "employers who refuse to give our members their fair share." Membership in the Detroit-based union rose from 372,000 in 2021 but is still down from 397,000 at the end of 2020. North American operations for the Detroit Three automakers are under pressure as they pour billions into electric vehicles and battery production. In 2019, UAW workers at GM went on strike for 40 days before a new contract was ratified, costing the automaker $3 billion.

The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, has been pressing the World Bank for months to take bolder action to increase funding to help developing countries address climate change, future pandemics and other global challenges. The World Bank provided $100 billion from 2020-2022 for global public goods, but estimates that developing countries and the private sector would need to spend far more - $2.4 trillion a year - to address such needs. Karim El Aynaoui, executive president of Moroccan think tank the Policy Center for the New South, said reforms of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks were long overdue and changes were needed to give greater voice to African countries and other developing nations. "The world has changed since the inception of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. U.S. officials are also working closely with other MDBs to advance reforms, including the Inter-American Development Bank, which adopted closely aligned measures at its annual meeting, including a push for more private capital.

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Environmental groups on Monday petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require companies to disclose the chemicals discharged from waste incinerators and plants that claim to recycle plastic waste into fuel. The groups said the agency did not respond to a letter they sent last October, raising concerns about the health impacts of incineration. The petition also asks the agency to include discharges from advanced recycling plants, which are classified as incinerators, in the TRI. Advanced recycling is an umbrella term for processes that use heat or chemicals to turn plastic waste into fuel or reclaimed resin to make new plastic. These plants, backed by major oil and petrochemical companies, claim to turn plastic waste to a "clean" fuel.

Companies Cummins Inc FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - Cummins Inc (CMI.N) said on Monday it would invest more than $1 billion across its U.S. engine manufacturing network to upgrade some facilities to support new clean energy technologies. Cummins said the investment would go towards its facilities in Indiana, North Carolina and New York, to upgrade its clean energy technology including fuel-agnostic engine platforms that would run on low-carbon fuels like natural gas, diesel and eventually hydrogen. The Columbus, Indiana-based company, known for its diesel and natural gas engines, has accelerated its push towards clean energy solutions to sell to its industrial and commercial transportation customers, as the trucking industry is expected to face tougher greenhouse emissions regulations this year. The $1 billion announced is in addition to the investment of $1.5 billion that the engine maker announced last month. Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) shareholders should vote against its annual report and remuneration policy and support the "Follow This" climate activist resolution at BP's shareholders' meeting, Britain's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has recommended in a report seen by Reuters. In February BP rowed back on plans to slash oil and gas output and emissions and will not offer shareholders a vote on its climate strategy as it did last year when they backed it. LAPFF in a report to its members said it was "disappointed with the slackening of 2030 aims for emissions reduction". "LAPFF is further disappointed that there is not a company resolution on transition planning this year, especially given the material changes since the last one." They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

After missing a target to install 175 GW in renewable energy capacity by 2022, India is now trying to boost non-fossil capacity - solar and wind energy, nuclear and hydro power, and bio-power - to 500 GW by 2030. Its renewable energy capacity, excluding big hydro and nuclear power, exceeds 122 GW, while non-fossil capacity currently stands at more than 175 GW, according to government data as of February 28. Coal currently accounts for over half of India's 412.2 GW power generation capacity. Out of the targeted 50 GW in new green energy tenders every year, 10 GW will be for installation on wind turbines, according to the memo. Solar currently makes up over half of India's renewable energy capacity, while wind energy accounts for nearly a third.

Meanwhile, Republicans, many from energy-producing states, have raised a growing chorus of challenges on ESG. This can be a problem for fund participants who do not share ESG goals, the Republicans wrote. Asset managers have argued that such memberships align with their fiduciary obligations, and some are giving clients more control over proxy votes. "Asset managers voting for the exclusion of one of their competitors has clear antitrust implications," the letter states. The resolutions were filed by activist shareholder group As You Sow, which the Republicans suggested had targeted Vanguard over its withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Republicans, many from energy-producing states, have raised a growing chorus of challenges on ESG. The latest letter built on concerns many of the same attorneys general brought to BlackRock last August. This can be a problem for fund participants who do not share ESG goals, the Republicans wrote. Another section of the Republicans' letter cites several pending shareholder resolutions that ask corporations to dial back the use of Vanguard Group retirement plan funds because of Vanguard's fossil fuel holdings. "Asset managers voting for the exclusion of one of their competitors has clear antitrust implications," the letter states.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - A member of a United Nations-backed coalition of insurance firms and pension funds seeking to tackle climate change told Reuters it was considering quitting after disagreements about curbing investment in the oil and gas sector split the group. The row is the latest in a string of policy splits among major climate coalitions of financial firms. AkademikerPension wanted the position paper to state that NZAOA members should only invest in public equities or corporate bonds when the companies involved are no longer investing in exploration for new oil and gas. German insurer Munich Re (MUVGn.DE) said earlier on Friday it was withdrawing from another alliance of insurers focused on reducing carbon emissions to avoid antitrust risks. "I think it's going to be extremely difficult for a plaintiff, even a government enforcer, to prevail on an antitrust theory of harm," said Mitnick.

[1/2] The logo of Spanish energy, construction and services conglomerate Acciona, is projected on a wall during company's annual shareholder meeting in Alcobendas, outside Madrid, May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File PhotoMarch 31 (Reuters) - Spanish engineering firm Acciona (ANA.MC) and Germany's Nordex (NDXG.DE) said on Friday they teamed up to develop green hydrogen projects within the next 10 years in the United States, Latin America and Africa. Acciona owns a 41% stake in Nordex and its energy unit Acciona Energias (ANE.MC) will also participate in the joint venture. The joint company will not operate in Spain and Portugal, where Acciona Energias has an alliance with Plug Power (PLUG.O). Green hydrogen is seen as a potential solution to decarbonising heavy transport including commercial shipping.

The EU's current 2030 target is for a 32% renewable energy share. The EU got 22% of its energy from renewable sources in 2021, but the level varied significantly between countries. Sweden leads the 27 EU countries with its 63% renewable energy share, while in Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Ireland, renewable sources make up less than 13% of total energy use. EU countries will have to raise to 29% the share of renewables in energy used by the transport sector. The deal must be approved by the EU Parliament and EU countries to become law, normally a formality.

Companies Vanguard Group Inc FollowMarch 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand's financial markets regulator issued a warning to U.S. fund giant Vanguard Group on Wednesday for failing to disclose details within the required time over infringement notices filed against it in Australia for alleged greenwashing. These funds were also offered to New Zealand investors via a mutual recognition scheme but Vanguard missed the deadline by nearly two months to notify the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) about the action by ASIC, Australia's securities regulator, it said. "Vanguard Australia regrets our oversight in failing to comply with our notification obligations to the Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand," a spokesperson said in an emailed response. Vanguard failed to identify its obligations and did not have adequate processes in place to ensure that it filed the required notice within the required period, FMA said in a statement. Vanguard's breach, if not addressed, could harm the integrity of an agreement between Australia and New Zealand over market offerings, it added.

Common criticisms related to the accuracy and transparency of the data and ratings, as well as a company's ability to correct errors, the report said. The ERM report said companies' dissatisfaction with the accuracy of ratings was based largely on their experience of finding errors in raters' analysis of company supplied data, undermining their trust in the overall rating. Almost a third of the 104 companies surveyed said they had a "low" to "very low" confidence that the ESG ratings accurately reflected their ESG performance. But they are driven to secure ratings by investor demand, with 95% of companies saying this was a factor for them engaging with ESG raters. Investors, too, are spending large amounts on ESG data and ratings, with costs ranging between $175,000 and $360,000, the ERM said, although many reported having only "moderate confidence" in the accuracy and utility of these ratings.

SYDNEY, March 27 (Reuters) - Australia's lower house on Monday passed an emissions reduction plan with curbs on some new gas and coal investments and a cap on total greenhouse gas emissions from the country's biggest polluters after a key deal with the Greens Party. The updated legislation also requires all new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin to have net zero carbon emissions and new gas fields supplying existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to have net zero reservoir emissions, imposing new costs. "Today, we are a step closer to achieving net zero by 2050," Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. Under the revised legislation, projects such as the massive Browse field that Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) wants to develop would have to have carbon capture and storage to achieve net zero. The government said it would tip in A$400 million ($266 million) to help the cement, steel and aluminium industries decarbonise.

BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to back a revamp of the single market, simplified regulations and other steps to ensure the bloc can compete with the United States and China as an industrial leader in green and digital technologies. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was vital to cut red tape and make the most of the single market. EU leaders, meeting in Brussels from Thursday for a two-day summit, said the single market was essential to future economic growth, while highlighting areas for improvement. "The European Council calls for ambitious action to complete the single market, in particular for digital and services," the summit conclusions said. The conclusions also called for progress in areas to improve the long-term competitiveness of the European Union.

March 23 (Reuters) - Large companies, including asset manager Franklin Templeton (BEN.N) and web-services provider Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM.O), joined an effort on Thursday to defend sustainable investment practices from a backlash by U.S. Republican politicians. Republicans, often from energy-producing states, have sought to block the growing use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations by shareholders and corporate executives. BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) for instance on Thursday said it would continue to press companies for information about climate risks. Mindy Lubber, CEO of sustainability nonprofit Ceres, which organized Thursday's statement, told a call with reporters that companies showed "some hesitancy" to speak up. But Anne Simpson, head of sustainability for Franklin Templeton, part of California-based Franklin Resources Inc (BEN.N), said on the same call that ESG efforts are "fiduciary duty at work".

"There are no material changes in our approach to these themes, and our engagement with companies will continue the dialogue on material risks and opportunities relevant to their business models and sectors that we had in 2022," it said. It said that environmental issues it would consider include "water use, land use, waste management and climate risk." The statements were in line with recent comments by BlackRock Chief Executive Laurence Fink in his recent annual letter. Fink said BlackRock has been vocal in seeking company disclosures about their plans to navigate the energy transition, but that "it’s not our place to be telling companies what to do." Reporting by Simon Jessop in London and by Ross Kerber in BostonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are expected on Thursday to back a revamp of the single market, simplified regulations and other steps to ensure the bloc can compete with the United States and China as an industrial leader in green and digital technologies. "This failure to complete the single market needs to be addressed," one EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity. EU leaders, meeting in Brussels from Thursday for a two-day summit, are expected to say the single market is essential to future economic growth, while highlighting areas for improvement. "The European Council calls for ambitious action to complete the single market, in particular for digital and services," draft conclusions of the summit say. The draft conclusions also call for progress in areas to improve competitiveness of the European Union beyond 2030.

The European Union is set to propose on Wednesday new requirements on companies seeking to promote goods sold in Europe with labels like "natural", "climate neutral" or having "recycled content". Companies that make climate-friendly claims without proof could face financial penalties. A Commission assessment of 150 claims about products' environmental characteristics in 2020 found that most - 53% - provided "vague, misleading or unfounded information". Campaign groups welcomed the draft plan as a step forward from the largely unregulated proliferation of green claims today. Among the requirements would be that companies whose claims rely on buying carbon credits to offset their own environmental impact must disclose this.

The rules would apply to fridges, vacuum cleaners, televisions, washing machines and other goods that are deemed "repairable" under EU law. The EU is negotiating rules that would extend the requirement to smartphones and tablets. Under the EU rules, companies would have to repair a defective product for free within the two-year legal guarantee period, if the cost of repair is cheaper or equal to replacing the product. After that date, companies must still offer repairs, either for free or for a charge. A second law, proposed by Brussels on Wednesday, would force companies to verify claims that their products are "green" or "eco-friendly".

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday rejected a Republican proposal to prevent pension fund managers from basing investment decisions on factors like climate change, in the first veto of his presidency. "I just signed this veto because the legislation passed by the Congress would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country," Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. Two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, voted with Republicans. Manchin countered that it was the Biden administration that was pushing its "radical policy agenda" on this issue. "Despite a clear and bipartisan rejection of the rule from Congress, President Biden is choosing to put his administration’s progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people," Manchin said in a statement.

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