At PJM Interconnection's meeting in Philadelphia yesterday, the sparks were flying. Governors of 11 states gave the nation's largest grid operator an ultimatum of sorts: do more to address soaring electricity costs or risk some states leaving the regional market. As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, "We need to move more quickly on energy-producing projects, and we've got to hold down cost. If PJM cannot do that, then Pennsylvania will look to go it alone."
A new report from the European Central Bank confirms what most of the world already knew: China's rare earths dominance is a huge problem. In its report the bank said the eurozone economy faces the threat of higher inflation rates and slower economic growth if supplies of rare earth minerals from China are disrupted. In a report, its economists highlighted the region's heavy reliance on rare earths from China, noting that China supplies 70% of the eurozone's rare-earth imports. But most of the eurozone's suppliers of products that contain rare earths are also dependent on China.
And the Trump Administration is pushing the World Bank to resume financing fossil fuel projects, reversing the Bank's 2019 policy which stopped new fossil fuel investments. Officials told the Financial Times the move extends to other development banks, since President Trump's return to office, highlighting the trend of North American banks and asset managers' retreating from net-zero alliances.
