This week saw BHP’s last attempt to acquire fellow miner Anglo American fail. The negotiations had lasted six weeks, the offer prices were hiked twice, and yet the deal broke down. Because BHP only wanted Anglo’s copper operations. The deal, although failed, put copper in the spotlight—on the scene of resource scarcity. Earlier this month, copper prices...

The state of Vermont has just enacted a law that would take on oil companies to require them to pay for damage caused by their emissions, in a first such legislation in a U.S. state.  The bill, S.259, ‘An act relating to climate change cost recovery,’ became law without the signature of Vermont’s Republican Governor Philip B. Scott.  The law stipulates...

Intelligent, responsive, and flexible computing systems are essential for meeting global climate goals, as they can help optimize energy production and consumption.As the world keeps consuming more and more energy, the likelihood that we’ll be able to reach net zero by midcentury is seeming more and more like a pipe dream. The U.S. Energy Information...

Despite its longstanding reliance on coal, Australia is steadily transitioning away from fossil fuels to greener alternatives. The government has made ambitious pledges to close the country’s coal mines and expand its wind and solar energy operations. This includes the development of the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, as well as massive...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the temporary blockage of its Black Sea ports have redirected the flow of grain from "the world's breadbasket". One of the world’s leading producers of wheat, corn and vegetable oils, Ukraine shipped much of its grain internationally prior to the war, with seven of the 10 most important destination markets for Ukrainian...

The U.S. oil industry saw its latest announcement of a big merger this week after ConocoPhillips said it had agreed to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal with an enterprise value of $22.5 billion, inclusive of $5.4 billion of net debt.    The rationale behind the latest deal in the shale patch is slightly different from those of the previously announced...