Harris selects Minnesota's Walz as running mate
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, elevating a Midwestern voice who has championed ambitious policies on climate change and clean energy during his two terms as governor.
Walz, who was a schoolteacher before serving in the US Congress and then as governor, only recently emerged on the national stage as a favorite of progressives who could take on Republicans. Harris said she chose Walz as her running mate based partly on his "convictions on fighting for middle class families" and his efforts to deliver for "working families like his own."
Harris will appear with Walz today at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the first event the campaign says will be a "five-day barnstorm" to introduce the Democratic ticket to voters in battleground states. The Harris campaign today touted Walz's service in the military and election in a conservative-leaning district as a sign of his broader political appeal.
In 2021, Walz made Minnesota the first state in the Midwest to adopt California's tailpipe standards, and last year he signed a law requiring Minnesota utilities to switch entirely to wind, solar and other carbon-free electricity sources by 2040. Walz signed a separate law in June that would expedite the state's permitting process for renewable power projects.
The campaign for Republican nominee Donald Trump today said Walz was a "West Coast wannabe" who as governor replicated California's policies on the environment. "From proposing his own carbon-free agenda, to suggesting stricter emission standards for gas-powered cars and embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California's dangerously liberal agenda," Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Minnesota does not produce any crude or natural gas and has no coal mines. As of 2022, coal-fired power plants represented 27pc of Minneosta's in-state electricity generation, nuclear generated 24pc of electricity and renewable resources supplied 31pc of electricity. Minnesota is the fifth-largest ethanol producer in the US and has a production capacity of 1,400mn USG/yr.
Environmentalists applauded Walz's selection as a running mate who has sought ambitious policies related to climate change and clean energy, in addition to signing a law last year providing $2bn for environment, climate and energy. The Harris-Walz ticket "isn't afraid to tackle climate change head-on," Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous said.
Harris' vice presidential selection meant passing over Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro (D), who was also being vetted as someone who could help Harris win the battleground state. Democrats hope the selection of Walz will offer a contrast to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, who Walz has criticized as "just weird" for positions such as faulting women for not having children.
Related news posts
Renewable energy carbon credits not eligible for CCP
Renewable energy carbon credits not eligible for CCP
London, 6 August (Argus) — The integrity council for the voluntary carbon market (ICVCM), a non-profit governance body, said carbon credits from renewable energy projects will not be eligible for its core carbon principles (CCPs). Renewable energy credits issued under eight current carbon methodologies "fail to meet the CCP Assessment Framework requirements on additionality because they are insufficiently rigorous in assessing whether the projects would have gone ahead without the incentive of carbon credit revenues," the ICVCM said. This move automatically excludes 236mn unretired credits or around a third of the supply within the voluntary carbon market. The ICVCM also rejected a methodology for projects reducing the release of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), also because of weak additionality components. This refers to the methodology AM0065 under Verra's carbon crediting programme, which currently only covers one project in the US for a total of 2.64mn credits issued, of which just 185,000 are unretired. ICVCM's decision only covers current renewable energy methodologies and does not exclude the possibility of reviewing more rigorous approaches. "Renewable energy projects financed by carbon credits still have a role to play in the decarbonisation of energy grids... more robust methodologies would unlock finance for a new wave of renewable energy projects in places where they are most needed ," ICVCM chair Annette Nazareth said. This refers to renewable energy projects set up in countries with financial and legislative barriers, probably including most of the UN least developed countries (LDCs). The ICVCM has also approved a new methodology — Verra's AM0023 — covering methane leaks, mainly in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, which accounts for 19mn unretired credits, taking the total of unretired credits eligible for CCPs to 27mn or 3.6pc of the supply in the voluntary carbon market. Assessments of key carbon methodologies such as improved forest management (IFM) or afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR) are now concluded and the council's board is expected to make final decisions "soon", the ICVCM said. Assessments of other popular credits such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) or clean cookstoves are due within the coming months. By Nicola De Sanctis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesia’s Geo Energy to build new coal infrastructure
Indonesia’s Geo Energy to build new coal infrastructure
Singapore, 6 August (Argus) — Indonesian coal producer Geo Energy has signed a $150mn t contract for the construction and development of a 92km coal hauling road and loading jetty in south Sumatra's Jambi province. The infrastructure will have a capacity of 40mn-50mn t yr with a planned completion in late 2025 or early 2026. Of this, 25mn t will be reserved for Geo Energy's Triaryani (TRA) mine, with the remaining capacity to be leased to neighbouring mines, Geo Energy said. The development will carried out by state-owned Chinese enterprises First Harbor Consultants and Norinco International. The new infrastructure will be instrumental in TRA aiming to boost production up to 25mn t, Geo Energy said. Geo Energy produces low-calorific value coal. Its January-March coal sales totalled 1.8mn t, down by 5.3pc from 1.9mn t a year earlier. Its output fell by over 16pc to 1.5mn t over the same period. The output drop was because of seasonal and weather conditions, the company said in May . It acquired stakes in domestic mining firm Golden Eagle Energy and logistics firm Marga Bara Jaya in July 2023. The deal gives it access to proven and probable coal reserves of more than 300mn t in south Sumatra. The company said it is on track to achieve sales of 10mn-11mn t this year because it expects higher year-on-year output in the second half of the year. It has obtained a production quota of 10.5mn t for 2024. This includes 8mn t at its SDJ and TBR mines and another 2.5mn t for TRA. By Andrew Jones Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India to tweak law to ease doing upstream business
India to tweak law to ease doing upstream business
Mumbai, 6 August (Argus) — India has introduced legislation in the upper house of parliament to amend an existing law to enhance the ease of doing business in the exploration and production sector. The oil and gas ministry has proposed a "petroleum lease" for exploration and production of mineral oils. It has also expanded the definition of mineral oils to include crude, natural gas, petroleum, condensate, coal-bed methane, oil shale, shale gas, shale oil, tight gas, tight oil and gas hydrate. The legislation proposes to separate mining operations from petroleum operations, which were originally regulated together. It also proposes to grant the petroleum lease on stable terms where its terms will not be altered to the disadvantage of the lessee during the period of the lease, while allows sharing of production facilities and infrastructure. The proposed amendments also include effective dispute resolution, decriminalising some provisions by replacing imprisonment with financial penalties and allowing appeals against the orders of the ruling authority. It also aims to ease energy transition by enabling development of comprehensive energy projects for harnessing wind and solar energy, along with mineral oils at oil fields. It has provisions to use oil fields for production of hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation and storage or coal gasification. The bill has to be passed by both houses of parliament to become law. India has been trying to attract domestic and international investors in the exploration sector by working to promote the ease of doing business in the sector. It also wants to increase domestic output of oil and gas to meet the country's increasing energy demand and reduce dependence on imports. India's crude production during April-June fell by 2pc from a year earlier to 538,000 b/d, oil ministry data show. Its dependence on crude imports for this period eased to 88.3pc from 88.8pc a year earlier. India will offer 25 oil and gas blocks in the tenth upstream bidding round in August or September. It has extended the deadline for the ninth round three times, with the latest to 31 August. Foreign participants have raised key issues with the oil ministry, including those related to indemnity and compensation that are likely to be addressed in the new legislation. Hydrocarbon exploration has been lacking because of the slow implementation of policies. India's upstream licensing has largely been dominated by domestic participants. Indian state-controlled upstream firm ONGC in January won seven of the 10 areas in exploration blocks offered in the eighth upstream bidding round. A private-sector consortium of Reliance Industries and BP, state-controlled upstream firm Oil India and private-sector Sun Petrochemicals received one block each. By Roshni Devi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Adani raises coal output at Australia’s Carmichael mine
Adani raises coal output at Australia’s Carmichael mine
Singapore, 6 August (Argus) — Indian conglomerate Adani raised thermal coal output at its Carmichael mine in Australia during April-June compared with a year earlier. The company produced 3.2mn t of coal during the quarter, up by over 21pc compared with last year's corresponding quarter. It sold 2.8mn t of coal in the quarter, up by 16pc from a year earlier. Carmichael produced 11.2mn t of coal during India's fiscal year from April 2023-March 2024, compared with 7.7mn t in 2022-23, the first full year of operations. Sales grew to 11.2mn t last year, up from 7.3mn t a year earlier. Adani aims to ramp output from this mine to 14mn-15mn t in 2024-25. It shipped the first cargo from Carmichael in January 2022, after missing its initial target of shipping first coal in 2021. Carmichael is around 500km inland from the Abbot Point coal port, which is also owned by Adani. Carmichael coal has an average calorific value of around NAR 4,950 kcal/kg, lower than the standard 5,500-6,000 kcal/kg produced in Australia's Hunter valley and Bowen basin. Argus assessed Australian NAR 5,500 kcal/kg coal at $87.80/t fob Newcastle on 2 August. Adani's IRM division, the largest Indian thermal coal importer and trading firm, handled less coal during April-June compared with a year earlier. Volumes for the quarter were 15.4mn t, down by 13pc from a year earlier. It was also lower by almost 38pc from 24.7mn t during January-March. The firm's coal-trading business primarily caters to the requirements of Indian private-sector, central and state government-owned utilities. It participates as a bidder in tenders issued by these utilities from time to time. India's thermal coal imports rose in June from a year earlier, in line with an increase in coal-fired generation to cater for the rise in power demand during the peak summer period. The south Asian country imported 14.09mn t of thermal coal in June, up by 4.2pc from a year earlier, according to data from shipbroker Interocean. But imports fell from 16.70mn t in May. Imports during January-June were up at 89.64mn t, from 81.13mn t in the same period a year earlier. By Ajay Modi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more