Oil prices hit highest levels in years as recovery revs up June 9, 2021 Global oil prices rose to their highest levels in several years as demand for fuels continues to recover amid loosening Covid-19 restrictions. After rising over 1.0 per cent yesterday, worldwide standard Brent Crude hit $72.83 per barrel earlier today, its highest levels since May 2019. And West Texas Intermediate also gained a further 0.3 per cent, [...]
Traffic light system could cost UK airports £2.6bn this summer June 9, 2021 The UK’s airports risk losing at least £2.6bn for the second year running this summer under the current traffic light travel system, as more travel and aviation leaders called for the scheme to be scrapped. Compared to last summer’s travel corridor system, trade body the Airline Operator’s Association (AOA) said that there were far fewer [...]
Shell chief: We will ‘accelerate’ energy transition plans after court ruling June 9, 2021 Shell’s chief executive has today said that the oil behemoth will accelerate its plans to transition away from fossil fuels after a historic Dutch court ruling last month. In a landmark case, a court in the Hague ordered the Anglo-Dutch giant to slash greenhouse emissions by 45 per cent from 2019 levels by 2030, faster [...]
Treasury sets up new expert panel to tackle ‘greenwashing’ June 9, 2021 The Treasury has today set up a new group of expert advisers in order to clamp down on “greenwashing” amid the economic transition to a net zero economy. With businesses under more pressure than ever by shareholders and activists to ensure that their operations and investments do not damage the environment, ministers have been urged [...]
Norway-UK electricity link to start testing this month June 8, 2021 Norway will begin testing its subsea electricity interconnector with the UK, the North Sea Link, this month, transmission system operator Statnett said today. The 720-kilometre-long cable connects Kvildall in southern Norway with Blyth in northern England, and is owned by Statnett and National Grid. When operational, it will be able to provide enough power for [...]
Number of US job vacancies hits record level as firms struggle to hire quick enough June 8, 2021 The number of US job openings rose to its highest ever level in April, new figures from the Department for Labor Statistics revealed today, as businesses scrap for workers as economy reopens. According to the figures, there were 9.3m available positions as of the last day of the month, up nearly 1m from March. That’s [...]
Biden to set up taskforce to address semiconductor dearth June 8, 2021 The Biden administration will set up a new taskforce to address a number of supply chain issues that threaten the US’ economic recovery from the pandemic, it was announced today. The first six months of the year have been plagued by disruptions to economic activity brought about by a shortage of semiconductor chips and other [...]
Transport for London mulls cutting Tube and bus services in bid to find £900m in savings June 8, 2021 Transport for London (TfL) may be forced to cut Tube and bus services, Sadiq Khan has confirmed, as it scrambles to find £900m in savings a year under the terms of the government’s latest bailout. Last week ministers agreed a new six month funding agreement for the transport network worth £1bn, but the deal comes [...]
Open up UK-US travel corridor, airline bosses plead ahead of G7 summit June 7, 2021 The chief executives of all the airlines which run transatlantic services have come together to once again call for the reopening of the US-UK travel corridor. Routes between the two countries are a central source of income to airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, which [...]
EDF to begin decommissioning Dungeness B nuclear station seven years early June 7, 2021 EDF Energy today said that it would begin the defuelling phase of Dungeness B nuclear power station in Kent, seven years ahead of schedule. The 1.2 gigawatt power station at Romney Marsh has been offline since 2018 due to “a range of unique, significant and ongoing technical challenges”, the energy giant said. But after discovering [...]
