UN Headquarters in New York City goes dark to rally support in climate change fight

The United Nations will go dark later this evening as the Organization shuts off the lights at its iconic Headquarters complex in New York and other facilities around the world in observance of 'Earth Hour,' an annual global event to put the spotlight on the issues facing the planet and to inspire millions across the world to live more sustainably.

In a video message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said: "This year's Earth Hour comes at a pivotal moment. Last December, all the world's Governments came together to adopt the Paris Agreement on climate change. This is a historic achievement for people and the planet &#8211 but only if we follow through on the promises made."

Organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour encourages individuals, companies, organizations and Governments to switch off their lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m., local time worldwide, to focus attention on people-driven solutions to protecting the planet and building a bright, sustainable future.

Mr. Ban notes that the world is now entering a new era of opportunity. &#8220Together, we can create the low-emissions future the world needs for sustainable development and a life of dignity and stability for all. Earth Hour reminds us that we all have a role to play.&#8221

First launched in 2007, Earth Hour has become an annual event, mobilizing hundreds of millions of individuals to participate and growing to become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment.

According to the WWF, the UN family will join the thousands of homes, offices, skylines and monuments that will go dark to put the spotlight on the issues facing the planet, and to inspire millions across the world to live more sustainably. At least 178 countries and territories are expected to take part in this year's celebrations.

So far over 366 landmarks are confirmed and will be turning off on the night of Earth Hour including iconic sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House, the Roman Colosseum and Marina Bay Sands.

Amongst participating countries this year 90 are taking actions to achieve impact during Earth Hour through digital interactions, engaging local communities and raising awareness, adds the WWF.

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UK guarantees £2bn nuclear plant deal as China funding announced

British Chancellor George Osborne introduced the UK will set aside £2 billion (US$3 billion) to assure the construction of the Hinkley aspect C nuclear vigor station in southwest England. He broke the information Monday all over his go back and forth to China.
Power Secretary Amber Rudd advised the fiscal times that chinese language builders need to lead and design the nuclear plant. When developed, the plant will vigor about six million buildings, or seven % of all buildings in the UK.

Bloomberg said the guarantee is considered as the catalyst for the final funding with the aid of Electricite de France SA supported by China national Nuclear business enterprise and China regularly occurring Nuclear organisation. The government is offering the £2 billion to attract lenders should developers of the building plan fall into economic straits.
With out the guarantee, EDF and its companions would have a hard time securing the dollars mandatory to finance the assignment. Osborne noted the proposed nuclear plant will enhance the uk’s economic climate. He cited that the plant part of a wider nuclear collaboration project valued at tens of billions of kilos.

The executive, through Infrastructure UK, has received state aid clearance from the ecu Union to guarantee as plenty as £16 billion in loans for the Hinkley aspect undertaking, said The Telegraph . builders are to pay Infrastructure UK an annual payment of two.95 percent of the cost of the mortgage. The £2 billion personal loan must be repaid via 2020. 

The fiscal instances said that the contract between Britain, France and China will aid pay for the Hinkley challenge construction and a 2d nuclear vigour plant in Suffolk. In return, the chinese language will take a controlling stake in a new vigour plant being planned for Essex. This plant at Bradwell might be the primary chinese language-developed and run nuclear reactor in the West. 

UK ensures £2bn nuclear plant deal as China funding announced (credit: YouTube/properly Breaking news)

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Obama Pushes North Korea Nuclear Deal

Obama noted Friday that he’s willing to talk provided that North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons.
After reducing deals with Cuba and Iran, President Barack Obama is speakme up the theory of chopping a take care of North Korea.

On Friday, Obama offered up an Iran-style deal to dispose of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons in return for sanctions aid.

“We’ll be appropriate there at the table,” Obama mentioned, given that North Korea suggests a willingness to give up its nuclear weapons.

Obama spoke at a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in the East Room of the White condominium, and that they issued a joint observation providing an olive department to North Korea.

whereas Obama decried North Korea’s “horrific treatment” of its own individuals, he cited his offers with Cuba and Iran and recommended he's prepared to confer with and attain lodgings with nations, besides the fact that it doesn’t unravel every unbelievable concern.

“we are able to proceed to insist that Pyongyang have to abide by means of its duties on the finished and verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula in a peaceable method, and given the horrific treatment of the North Korean people through their government, our two international locations will proceed to show abuses and speak to for accountability for human rights violations,” Obama stated.

“at the identical time, we do guide President Park’s efforts to increase relations between South and North Korea. As my administration has proven with Iran and with Cuba, we are also organized to interact nations with which we now have had afflicted histories, but Pyongyang must understand it is going to now not achieve the financial development it seeks so long as it clings to nuclear weapons.”

Obama talked about a cope with North Korea would ought to include the identical classification of intrusive inspections as are referred to as for in the Iran deal.

There’s one capture in getting a deal with North Korea, despite the fact: to this point, the nation hasn’t proven an activity in giving up its nuclear weapons.

Obama, in the meantime, gave the impression to minimize Iran’s ballistic missile exams. He spoke of violations of United nations resolutions may still have international consequences, but he continued to shelter the nuclear deal, asserting any of the issues that Iran engages in can be worse if they were nevertheless pursuing a nuclear weapon.

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Schlumberger Sees 'challenging' global Oil Market continuing

Three months ago, the top of Schlumberger Ltd. notion the industry had considered the worst of the U.S. oil rout. Now he’s not so bound.

Chief govt Officer Paal Kibsgaard stated in July that a restoration may begin by the end of the year. That’s been delayed, Kibsgaard’s said in a statement Thursday as Schlumberger stated a 49 percent drop in third-quarter profit.

Paal Kibsgaard, chairman and chief govt officer of Schlumberger constrained.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

The market is "more and more challenging with exercise anticipated to be reduced further," Kibsgaard mentioned.

the realm’s biggest oilfield services provider mentioned that profit fell to $989 million, or 78 cents a share, from $1.95 billion in the yr-in the past quarter. The salary beat by way of 1 cent the usual of 37 analysts’ estimates compiled by using Bloomberg.

although demand catches as much as deliver and prices upward push in coming months, enterprise will probably continue to decline, he observed, “as lack of purchasable cash stream exhausts capital spending for a couple of our clients, leading them to take a conservative view on 2016 E&P spending even with any gradual improvement in oil fees.”

The power trade has had to cut down more than 200,000 jobs and $one hundred billion in spending this year to contend with falling oil costs. Schlumberger, which has whittled its workforce by more than 20,000, may additionally ought to make extra cuts if the pain continues, Kibsgaard referred to.
world Contagion

The enterprise, which generates most of its income outdoor the U.S. and Canada, said its international income margin slipped to 23.7 % in the quarter, from 24.5 p.c a year earlier. It’s an indication that the slump hurting North the united states is spreading world wide as valued clientele push for reduce provider prices.

"We’re attending to the point where things haven’t recovered as we expected," pointed out Rob Desai, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis, who quotes the shares a purchase and owns none. as a substitute, "They’ve gotten worse."

Schlumberger is the first of the principal power businesses to record what are commonly expected to be dismal third quarter results. After crude prices fell with the aid of more than half considering June 2014, the downturn is shaping up to be the most severe in decades, Kibsgaard stated.

costs for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, fell Thursday to $forty six.38 a barrel, capping the longest streak of declines since July. Crude dropped after a executive record that U.S. stockpiles had considered their greatest increase in six months, bolstering hypothesis a worldwide surplus will persist.

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Shamrock Proppants shuts down indefinitely in mid-Missouri

Operations have been shut down at a central Missouri plant that makes substances used in fracking.
The Mexico Ledger experiences the Shamrock Proppant plant in Mexico shut down indefinitely Thursday in the wake of the contemporary downturn in oil expenses and a pullback in fracking operations.

Proppants are a treated sand or ceramic gravel combination used in the unconventional oil and fuel business to open cracks in deep-rock formations to aid unencumber oil.
The power advice Administration says U.S. oil production diminished by means of one hundred twenty,000 barrels per day in September from August.
Frank O'Brien Jr., Shamrock's president, says he hopes to carry the plant lower back up as soon because the trade starts faring greater.

He says six of Shamrock's 25 personnel are staying at the plant to mak
e certain it be shut down adequately.

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Will Oil fees Go Up In 2017?

For the more suitable a part of this 12 months, oil expenditures have dominated headlines.The surge in oil production from American shale oil producers and the organization of Petroleum-Exporting international locations (OPEC) has resulted in a corresponding discount in fee. here's not the first time that oil fees have dropped. again within the late 1970s and early Eighties, the oil trade confronted an analogous condition when the entry of non-OPEC oil producers accelerated provide and, in consequence, decreased expenses. In response, oil expenses went precipitously south and dipped to $12 per barrel in 1986. Then, OPEC responded by means of cutting down oil production handiest to boost production later. ultimately, it took well-nigh a decade for oil expenses to stabilize. (For more, study: OPEC vs. the U.S.: Who Controls Oil fees?)

The present downward swing in oil expenditures has raised an identical specter of low oil fees for a protracted length. to date, this yr oil prices have dropped by greater than 57% from remaining yr's costs. despite the fact, the decline can be transient. in accordance with analysts, oil expenses will upward push lower back up once again in 2017.A deliver Glut Which resulted in a cost Drop

The leading wrongdoer for the shellacking that oil expenses have obtained in contemporary instances is the glut of oil in overseas markets. in line with the U.S. power information Administration, shale or tight oil production in the usa turned into 4.2 million barrels per day ultimate 12 months. That figure constituted approximately 49% of total construction within the united states, the world's biggest purchaser of oil.

The boost in production and availability of oil here led to a glut of oil in foreign markets. The condition turned into extra exacerbated via OPEC's elimination of construction quotas. Saudi Arabia, the swing producer in the oil market, has persevered to hold its creation levels. American shale producers also refused to again down, continuing to supply oil to continue market share, even as oil prices dropped and made their methods uneconomical and unsustainable. in keeping with the international energy company, oil fees sank to six years lows in August as a result of elevated deliver.
The Case For a brief enhance

Oil fees have declined primarily as a result of a discount in give. In a submit on the Morningstar web site, analyst Stephen Simko argues that “tens of billions of bucks of near-term funding has been cut or deferred, with the intention to cause world give staying flat in 2016 -17.”
After peaking in April this yr, U.S. oil production has declined all of a sudden since. Jefferies, a analysis company, states that extra oil skill has halved by 1,000,000 barrels this quarter as in comparison to the outdated one.

much of the deferred funding takes the form of idling shale oil rigs and abandoning of new projects. based on timber Mackenzie, an energy research firm, the circulation by using oil firms to curb new investments may result in an estimated $1.5 trillion loss for the business. for instance, Dutch enterprise Shell Petroleum currently introduced that it turned into stopping oil exploration in the Arctic after spending practically $7 billion on the assignment. Baker Hughes, an oilfield functions business based in Houston, says the rig count (or the number of drilling rigs prospecting for oil) has fallen to its lowest level considering the fact that 2003.
As U.S. creation levels fall, different important players in the oil game, including Saudi Arabia, are anticipated to comply with go well with. world demand, which has been rising for the previous few years, is anticipated to enhance further in the coming years. in line with the U.S. power assistance Administration, stock builds for petroleum and other liquids is anticipated to decline to a regular of 1.1 million barrels per day from existing ranges of 1.eight million barrels. at the equal time, global demand for petroleum is expected to enhance with the aid of 1.three million barrels per day with China because the basic driver and the emergence of Iran as a big client. Juxtapose the demand boost with deliver constraints and oil prices should still stabilize and settle into an upward style.
eventually, latest oil expenditures are unsustainable for the long run future of oil. American shale oil producers discover it uneconomical to produce oil at current fees. (For greater, see: Will Shale Oil groups Go Bankrupt?) OPEC producers are also beneath pressure from native budgetary constraints to spend more at domestic. Saudi Arabia, which has the world's largest reserves of oil, is additionally bleeding. it be overseas reserves are declining, and the nation has additionally needed to withdraw $50 billion to $70 billion in the last six months from world asset managers, in keeping with market intelligence enterprise perception Discovery.
The bottom line Unrestrained drilling via U.S. shale oil producers led to a glut in oil resources. In turn, expenditures improved. Declining U.S. oil production should still instigate other predominant producers to drop their costs. In turn, a rise in international demand should still pressure expenses upward.

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Russia's Gazprom delays pipeline task amid Turkey tensions

Russian gasoline huge Gazprom said Wednesday its TurkStream pipeline undertaking with Turkey would be delayed as tensions between Moscow and Ankara height over Russia's intervention within the Syrian battle.

"Due to the fact that there is no intergovernmental settlement, the timeframe should be postponed," Russian information groups quoted Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev as saying, relating to a deadline next 12 months for building the primary of four pipelines.

"How lengthy it is postponed for depends on when the settlement gets signed. If the deadline is pushed again by a year, that won't be a tragedy," he brought.
Russia has enraged Ankara via launching air strikes against Islamic State and different targets in Syria, Turkey's southern neighbour, in a circulate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a "grave mistake."

Russian warplanes twice violated the airspace of the NATO member in contemporary days, leading Turkish authorities to whinge to the Russian embassy.
Medvedev despite the fact insisted that political tensions have been no longer a factor in the international locations' latest failure to reach an contract on the TurkStream assignment, with talks frozen ultimate month due to disagreements over the expense of Russian gasoline imports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced the plan for a TurkStream pipeline in December 2014, asserting it might change Russia's now scrapped South move joint venture with european organisations.
But the construction of the pipeline -- which had been scheduled to birth in June -- not ever accurately acquired below manner.

Putin and Erdogan had agreed final month -- earlier than Russia's bombing crusade in Syria -- that the work on the venture would proceed regardless of difficulties.
The TurkStream plan envisages 4 900-kilometre (560-mile) offshore pipelines working below the Black Sea linking southern Russia to western Turkey.
Its development would permit Russia to obtain its intention of delivering gas to Europe while warding off conflict-torn neighbour Ukraine.

The primary of the four traces was to be constructed through December 2016, with the fuel first going to the Turkish market and then to foreign buyers.
facing a cold shoulder from Europe and expanded competition at home, Russia's Gazprom has struggled in contemporary months to claim dominance on the world energy market.
On Tuesday, Gazprom head Alexei Miller stated the TurkStream pipeline would have a skill of 32 billion cubic metres, half the means that had been at the beginning outlined in the mission.

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Norway to spend extra oil wealth, cut taxes

OSLO--Norway's executive Wednesday proposed a coverage of slicing taxes and stimulating the financial system by spending greater of its oil fund, as a struggling oil sector puts a lid on increase.

"The 2016 fiscal funds will aid dampen the macroeconomic results of the lessen in endeavor in the petroleum sector, while permitting for quintessential structural adjustments," talked about the nation's minister of finance, Ms. Siv Jensen.

The appropriate-wing minority govt proposed a tax discount of 9.1 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.09 billion) next yr, together with a discount in corporate and personal profits taxes to 25% from 27%, to raise competitiveness following tax cuts among its trading companions. The government goals to reduce enterprise tax to 22% through 2018, it pointed out.

The executive now expects Norway's mainland gross domestic product to grow 1.three% in 2015 and 1.eight% in 2016, in comparison with may additionally's increase forecast of 1.3% and a couple of.0% respectively.

Norway's big sovereign wealth fund, developed on oil and gas revenues, permits it to hike spending throughout downturns. The nation spoke of it could spend a list NOK194 billion from its oil fund next 12 months, equal to 7.1% of gross home product or about $37,000 per man, woman and newborn. the whole 2016 government expenditure is NOK1.25 trillion.

The executive will should accept some changes to its proposals, following negotiations with two centrist help events to get the budget passed in parliament.

The government has said it needs greater time to estimate the spending essential to tackle a surge in asylum seekers this yr, and may get lower back to the concern later this autumn.

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Solar and wind power surge as drilling and mining falter

While the production of fossil fuels drops in the United States, solar and wind power is skyrocketing as technology and cheaper financing drive down the costs.

“In the U.S., we’ve known that wind energy can be cheaper than (natural) gas in some states, but solar is now inching toward that same milestone,” said Jacqueline Lilinshtein, U.S. analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a firm that advises industry clients on energy issues.
Texas leads the U.S. in wind power, with about 10 percent of its power from wind. California, Nevada and North Carolina are the nation’s top solar states and dominate the market.

The federal government expects a surge in renewable energy in the coming year, especially as solar expands from its traditional base of home rooftop panels to major utility-scale production.
“U.S. solar and wind power generating capacity is expected to see double digit growth in 2016,” said Adam Sieminski, the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

This comes as America’s fracking boom is starting to falter. The crash in oil prices is shrinking the profits for drillers. Estimated U.S. crude oil production dropped by 120,000 barrels a day last month and is forecast to keep going down for most of the coming year at least.

Onshore wind and solar are both now much more competitive against the established generation technologies than would have seemed possible only five or 10 years ago. Luke Mills, energy economics analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Coal continues its downward spiral. Even coal areas that weathered past hard times, such as Indiana and Western Kentucky, are having a tough year, and major coal companies are going bankrupt.
“Production is expected to decrease in all coal-producing regions in 2015, with the largest decline on a percentage basis occurring in the Appalachian region,” according to the Department of Energy.
Costs of generating electricity from coal and natural gas are rising as renewables penetrate the market and fossil fuel plants run less, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
In the meantime, the cost of wind and solar continued to go down this year, signaling “a significant shift in the generating cost comparison between renewable energy and fossil fuels.”
“Onshore wind and solar are both now much more competitive against the established generation technologies than would have seemed possible only five or 10 years ago,” said Luke Mills, an energy economics analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The average U.S. price of coal and natural gas power is still cheaper than renewables at $65 a megawatt-hour, compared with wind at $80 and photovoltaic solar – generating electricity from sunlight – at $107.

But that gap is shrinking, and renewable costs can be even lower with federal subsidies. Ethan Zindler, head of policy analysis for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said he saw a solar power purchase agreement in Texas for $50 per megawatt-hour.
“There are definitely markets where solar is competitive,” Zindler said.
Renewables could run into problems, though, as lawmakers push back against helping the industry. The federal solar tax credit is set to expire in 2016 unless Congress renews it.
In North Carolina, which has emerged as a national leader in solar power, the legislature is ending its state renewable energy tax credit at the end of the year.

There’s also debate in Congress over the wind tax credit, which allows a reduction in tax payments for the first 10 years of a project. Some lawmakers are targeting the incentive for extinction, but American Wind Energy Association CEO Tom Kiernan said he’s optimistic.
“The support we have on Capitol Hill is significant and enduring,” Kiernan said.

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