G8 finance ministers warn of energy threat to world economy

Group of Eight finance chiefs wrapped up "stormy" talks at a hotel near Red Square, warning that wild energy prices threaten prospects for solid world economic growth in 2006. "Risks remain, including high and volatile energy prices," the major economic powers warned.

Oil prices and energy security dominated Russia's first hosting of G8 policymakers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. High oil and gas prices have delivered a windfall to Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter, giving it greater economic clout than in the past. Russia's G8 partners were deeply concerned, however, when Moscow turned off natural gas supplies to Ukraine in January to push through sharply higher prices.

Besides energy, the G8 ministers also pondered how to combat infectious diseases, interrupt terrorist financing and inject life into bogged-down world trade talks.

(2006-02-12 23:54:19 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Gas crisis prompts Italians to reconsider nuclear energy

peakoil.com -> gulf-times.com :

Though hardly any radioactive fallout from Chernobyl ever reached Italy, the worst accident in the history of nuclear power had a massive psychological impact on health-conscious Italians. On November 8, 1987, Italians banished nuclear energy by taking part in a referendum that received the support of more than 80% of voters. The last of Italy's existing nuclear power plants was finally shut in 1990. A growing number of people now believe this was a tragic mistake.

One of the main effects of the anti-nuclear stance is that Italy depends heavily on oil and natural gas from other countries. This means Italians pay the highest electricity bills in Europe - 14.6 euro cents per kilowatt/hour compared to a European average of 10 cents. Soaring petrol prices mean Italians are paying record amounts to fill up their cars. The repercussions of the 1987 vote are not only financial. In January, the government forced Italians to turn down their heating systems and urged them to minimise their consumption of natural gas because of a fall in supply from Russia. More than 60% of Italy's imported gas comes from Russia and Algeria while most of its oil comes from another potentially unstable area, the Middle East.

The latest energy crises have prompted the government to reconsider its stance on nuclear power. Industry Minister Claudio Scajola kickstarted the debate last November by proposing the constructing of nuclear power plants. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has added his voice by saying Italy should start producing its own nuclear energy. There are signs that public opinion is beginning to shift. According to a recent poll published by weekly L'Espresso, 47% of Italians are now in favour of nuclear energy, compared to 40% a year ago.

(2006-02-12 23:43:48 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Botswana has massive gas resources - Energy Minister

peakoil.com -> allafrica.com :

Botswana has massive gas resources, Minerals and Energy Minister Charles Tibone revealed. Initial indications are that the country has 60-trillion cubic feet of coal-bed methane gas. He said the recent coal-bed methane gas discovery held out hope for the use of gas for commercial and industrial purposes. Botswana is also endowed with vast coal resources totalling 212-billion tons, which have not been fully explored.

Africa is faced with many challenges that are being faced at both continental and regional levels under the umbrella of strategies for the New Partnership for Africa's Development. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) had set clear targets in its regional strategic vision of achieving a free trade area by 2008, a common customs union by 2010 and a common market by 2016. Employment creation and poverty reduction remain the immediate roles of governments. The important aspect to note that there is widespread appreciation of the significant role that mining plays to achieving these all-important goals.

(2006-02-12 23:32:53 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Global warming: passing the 'tipping point'

peakoil.com -> news.independent.co.uk :

A crucial global warming "tipping point" for the Earth has already been passed, with devastating consequences. Research commissioned by The Independent reveals that the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has now crossed a threshold beyond which really dangerous climate change is likely to be unstoppable. The implication is that some of global warming's worst predicted effects, from destruction of ecosystems to increased hunger and water shortages for billions of people, cannot now be avoided, whatever we do.

At the moment, global mean temperatures have risen to about 0.6 degrees above the pre-industrial era - and worrying signs of climate change, such as the rapid melting of the Arctic ice in summer, are already increasingly evident. But a rise to 2 degrees would be far more serious. By that point it is likely that the Greenland ice sheet will already have begun irreversible melting, threatening the world with a sea-level rise of several metres. Agricultural yields will have started to fall, not only in Africa but also in Europe, the US and Russia.

The Government's conference on Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change, held at the UK Met Office in Exeter a year ago, highlighted a clear threshold in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which should not be surpassed if the 2 degree point was to be avoided with "relatively high certainty". This was for the concentration of CO2 and other gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, to stay below 400ppm (parts per million); the "equivalent concentration" of CO2 should remain below that level.

We asked one of the world's leading experts on the effects of greenhouse gases on climate, Professor Keith Shine, head of the meteorology department at the University of Reading, to calculate it precisely. Using the latest available figures (for 2004), his calculations show the equivalent concentration of C02 is now 425ppm. The tipping point warned about by the Government is already behind us.

(2006-02-12 23:21:16 SGT) [Env] Permalink

PSA pulls out of bidding for Britain's P&O

business-times.asia1.com.sg :

Singapore port operator PSA International has withdrawn from the contest for the highly prized port and ferry assets of Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), ending a costly and some say futile bidding war with oil-backed Dubai Ports World (DPW). PSA ended days of speculation on whether it would best the Dubai port operator's Jan 26 bid of 520 pence per share, which valued P&O at 3.9 billion (S$11.1 billion). Following DPW's revised offer, 'PSA has decided not to increase its offer and will therefore no longer pursue the acquisition of P&O', the Singapore-based terminal operator said in a statement.

The decision by PSA to bow out will surprise few in the shipping community in Singapore, who have watched the nascent Dubai container terminal operator expand aggressively into a global maritime player. Pointing to the tenacity of DPW's bidding - its Jan 26 counter-bid came barely 12 hours after PSA's offer - the common wisdom was that DPW would pull out the stops to ensure it won the contest, thereby establishing itself as the third-largest player in the global terminal business behind Hutchison Port Holdings and PSA.

(2006-02-12 22:59:14 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Globalisation no longer a win-win situation

business-times.asia1.com.sg :

In his four years attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Nicholas Berry, director of the Foreign Policy Forum, writes that a clear, near consensus on the 'state of the world' emerged each year. In 2003, the five-day WEF produced this theme : 'You're making a big mistake, United States, if you attack Iraq.' 'We told you so' resounded in 2004. Iraq started to fade in 2005. This year, Mr Berry points out, the programme and conversations produced a clear theme: 'Energy is big, China and India are rising, and the United States is sinking.' The decline in the US role affecting the state of the world arose because China and India are on the move, with the GDPs of both giants growing at record rates.

Economist Stephen Roach, who attends Davos every year, suggests that perhaps the Internet is now posing serious problems to economic growth in the United States and the rest of the developed world. 'The win-win endorsement of globalisation - that the development of poor countries is a huge plus for rich, developed countries - was first coined in Davos,' Mr Roach recalls. 'Alternatively, there have been anti-globalisation protests associated with this event for years.' This year, the debate has moved from the outside to the inside.

'Serious challenges to globalisation are now being openly aired in the rooms and corridors of Davos's fabled Congress Centre.' And the reasons behind this shift are not hard to fathom. One of the 'wins' in the win-win of globalisation has failed to materialise. It is now commonplace for recoveries in the developed world to be either jobless, or wageless - or both. Even Mr Roach, an ardent pro-free market proponent, is not very optimistic. 'The toughest part of this story is that there may be no easy way out,' he notes.

While five years ago, the globalisation of the information function was confined to call centres and data processing, those pressures are now affecting workers in software programming, engineering, design and the medical profession, as well as professionals in the legal, accounting, actuarial, consulting and financial services industries. The old fears of the zero-sum outcome have crept back into the discussions at Davos. 'Gains in the developing world are increasingly feared to come at the expense of the developed world,' Roach said.

(2006-02-12 21:01:05 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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