By , LONDON (Reuters) - Oil companies may be facing uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic triggers a collapse in demand for their products, but auto makers are betting the crisis will help accelerate an electric future.With economies reeling from lockdowns to curb the virus, the sharpest plunge in oil prices in two decades has slashed the cost of filling up a tank of gas, eroding some of the incentive to make the switch to cleaner fuels.Looking ahead, cuts in capital spending forced upon energy companies as their revenues crumble could tighten supply enough to cause a spike in oil prices,...…By , LONDON (Reuters) - Oil companies may be facing uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic triggers a collapse in demand for their products, but auto makers are betting the crisis will help accelerate an electric future.With economies reeling from lockdowns to curb the virus, the sharpest plunge in oil prices in two decades has slashed the cost of filling up a tank of gas, eroding some of the incentive to make the switch to cleaner fuels.Looking ahead, cuts in capital spending forced upon energy companies as their revenues crumble could tighten supply enough to cause a spike in oil prices,...WW…

By , , LONDON/QUITO (Reuters) - European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade in oil from the Amazon rainforest.Stand.earth and Amazon Watch said ING, Credit Suisse, Natixis, BNP Paribas, UBS and Rabobank were the largest backers in the shipment of about $10 billion of dollars of Ecuadorian crude to U.S. refineries over the last decade.Each of the banks identified, having reviewed the report , referred to environmental commitments they had made, such...…By , , LONDON/QUITO (Reuters) - European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade in oil from the Amazon rainforest.Stand.earth and Amazon Watch said ING, Credit Suisse, Natixis, BNP Paribas, UBS and Rabobank were the largest backers in the shipment of about $10 billion of dollars of Ecuadorian crude to U.S. refineries over the last decade.Each of the banks identified, having reviewed the report , referred to environmental commitments they had made, such...WW…

By , (Correct title of Mindy Lubber in paragraph 7)LONDON (Reuters) - The world’s biggest carbon-emitting companies are far from aligning with the Paris Climate Agreement, a report by the leading climate-focused investor group showed on Monday.Climate Action 100+, whose 575 members manage $54 trillion in assets, was set up in 2017 to engage with the companies responsible for the bulk of planet-heating emissions to encourage them to cut them and strengthen climate disclosures.If added together and treated as a country, the companies - including oil majors like Exxon, Saudi Aramco and BP as...…By , (Correct title of Mindy Lubber in paragraph 7)LONDON (Reuters) - The world’s biggest carbon-emitting companies are far from aligning with the Paris Climate Agreement, a report by the leading climate-focused investor group showed on Monday.Climate Action 100+, whose 575 members manage $54 trillion in assets, was set up in 2017 to engage with the companies responsible for the bulk of planet-heating emissions to encourage them to cut them and strengthen climate disclosures.If added together and treated as a country, the companies - including oil majors like Exxon, Saudi Aramco and BP as...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares rebounded from last week’s steep sell-off and silver prices surged on Monday as retail investors expanded their social media-fueled battle with Wall Street to drive the precious metal to an eight-year high.A shift in the retail trading frenzy to silver drove up mining stocks on both sides of the Atlantic and left precious metals dealers scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand.The iShares Silver Trust ETF - the largest silver-backed ETF - jumped 7.1%. Data showed its holdings rose by a record 37 million shares from Thursday to Friday alone, each...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares rebounded from last week’s steep sell-off and silver prices surged on Monday as retail investors expanded their social media-fueled battle with Wall Street to drive the precious metal to an eight-year high.A shift in the retail trading frenzy to silver drove up mining stocks on both sides of the Atlantic and left precious metals dealers scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand.The iShares Silver Trust ETF - the largest silver-backed ETF - jumped 7.1%. Data showed its holdings rose by a record 37 million shares from Thursday to Friday alone, each...WW…

By , BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Months of EU deliberation to decide which business activities can be marketed as green investments have produced a set of draft standards some finance officials and NGOs say are lax for the polluting shipping sector and challenging for buildings.In other cases, they strike a fair balance, they say.As the European Union pursues regulation to try to deliver the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, a powerful tool in channelling funding over the coming decades will be its financial taxonomy - in other words, a system of classifying activities that can be...…By , BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Months of EU deliberation to decide which business activities can be marketed as green investments have produced a set of draft standards some finance officials and NGOs say are lax for the polluting shipping sector and challenging for buildings.In other cases, they strike a fair balance, they say.As the European Union pursues regulation to try to deliver the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, a powerful tool in channelling funding over the coming decades will be its financial taxonomy - in other words, a system of classifying activities that can be...WW…

By LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty of the world’s largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion (3.8 trillion pounds) said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.All members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group which includes the biggest U.S. pension scheme CalPERs and German insurer Allianz, are aiming to align their portfolios with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.The move is the most ambitious yet by the influential group, whose members own sizeable stakes in many of the world’s top...…By LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty of the world’s largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion (3.8 trillion pounds) said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.All members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group which includes the biggest U.S. pension scheme CalPERs and German insurer Allianz, are aiming to align their portfolios with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.The move is the most ambitious yet by the influential group, whose members own sizeable stakes in many of the world’s top...WW…

By , BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Canada on Monday joined the European Union in pledging to protect 30% of their land and seas by 2030 to stem “catastrophic” biodiversity loss and help galvanise support for broader agreement on the target ahead of a U.N. summit.With the twin crises of climate change and wildlife loss accelerating, leaders are trying to build momentum ahead of the meeting in Kunming, China, in May, where nearly 200 countries will negotiate a new agreement on protecting nature.“We must act now – right now. We cannot afford dither and delay because biodiversity loss...…By , BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Canada on Monday joined the European Union in pledging to protect 30% of their land and seas by 2030 to stem “catastrophic” biodiversity loss and help galvanise support for broader agreement on the target ahead of a U.N. summit.With the twin crises of climate change and wildlife loss accelerating, leaders are trying to build momentum ahead of the meeting in Kunming, China, in May, where nearly 200 countries will negotiate a new agreement on protecting nature.“We must act now – right now. We cannot afford dither and delay because biodiversity loss...WW…