Reading Time: 2 minutes A major Prairie ethanol and fuel producer is posed to spend just over half a billion dollars on a system to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from its operations in Saskatchewan. Federated Co-operatives announced Thursday it had signed a memo of understanding with Calgary-based ‘clean energy’ company Whitecap Resources, in which the latter company will […] Read more
Co-op to capture carbon at ethanol plant, refinery
FCL, Whitecap sign agreement to sequester fuel plants' CO2
White House not ruling out a U.S. carbon tax
Option 'not off the table' despite Manchin comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters –– The White House on Tuesday said it has not ruled out a carbon tax as a possible option for fighting climate change, even though U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a critical holdout in the closely divided Senate, said he was not discussing the topic in talks about U.S. spending and infrastructure bills. […] Read more
Mandated cuts in fertilizer use could be costly for Canada, report warns
Fertilizer industry study, based on EU plan, points to yield losses for corn, canola, wheat
Reading Time: 4 minutes Straight-up cuts in fertilizer rates — if imposed to help Canada meet its targets for cuts in emissions by the end of this decade — could translate to significantly reduced income for farmers, an industry group warns. Fertilizer Canada, the group representing manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors for nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur, on Monday […] Read more
Canada’s second-largest pension fund reveals new climate targets
Reading Time: < 1 minute Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s No. 2 pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec announced plans on Tuesday to completely exit oil production by the end of 2022 and reduce carbon intensity by 60 per cent by 2030. As part of the same plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Montreal-based Caisse plans […] Read more
Dreyfus, others shut soy crushers in China on power curbs
'Cash is on fire'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — Soymeal prices in China, the world’s top consumer of the animal feed ingredient, are rising after at least 20 soybean crushing plants shuttered to comply with curbs on industrial power consumption, industry participants said on Friday. Five crushing plants in the northern city of Tianjin closed this week, said Tianfeng Futures […] Read more
EU parliament committee approves farm subsidy reforms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Parliament’s agriculture committee on Thursday approved a deal to overhaul the European Union’s huge farming subsidies, including new measures aimed at making agriculture greener. The committee approved three pieces of legislation, which from 2023 will govern spending from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — a scheme that will […] Read more
Maersk signs first green methanol deal toward dropping fossil fuels
Reading Time: 2 minutes Copenhagen | Reuters — A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Wednesday it had signed a contract securing green methanol as the world’s largest shipping firm gears up to operate its first carbon-neutral ship in 2023. With about 90 per cent of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly three per cent of the world’s […] Read more
U.S. appeals court rules for environmental groups in biofuel case
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Friday in favour of environmental groups who argued against the U.S. government’s conclusion that biofuel blending obligations posed no danger to species’ habitats. The Environmental Protection Agency decides on the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must […] Read more
Sale of new fuel-powered cars, light trucks to be banned from 2035
Interim targets to be set for 2025, 2030
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will ban the sale of fuel-burning new cars and light-duty trucks from 2035 in an effort to reach net-zero emissions across the country by 2050, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said on Tuesday. Only zero-emissions cars and trucks can be sold from 2035, according to a statement, adding that a […] Read more
EU countries approve deal to overhaul farming subsidies
Subsidies to focus on sustainability, 'eco-schemes'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union countries on Monday gave the green light to reforms of the bloc’s huge farming subsidy program, after a three-year battle over rules to make it greener and support smaller farms. Negotiators representing the EU’s 27 countries and European Parliament struck the deal on Friday to reform the Common Agricultural […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
