After the gas crisis, the Arctic could be Russia and Europe’s next flashpoint

Published

4 years ago

October 15, 2021

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A new cold front could open up in the political tension between the European Union and Russia over energy. This time in the Arctic.

On Wednesday, the EU put forward proposals that could see it pushing to ban the tapping of new oil, coal and gas deposits in the Arctic in an effort, it said, to protect the region from further disruptive climate change.

Russia, a major holder of Arctic territory where an abundance of its hydrocarbon and fish stocks are found, is not too pleased with the proposals with Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak telling CNBC Thursday that they were politically-motivated and nonsensical.

“ I was a bit surprised when I heard about this yesterday. Why the Arctic, why not the Equator? One could come up with a number of places in the world where oil and gas production must be banned,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Russian Energy Week conference in Moscow, according to a translation.

“This proposal has no other motivation than political,” he added. “What do these statements tell us – that we need to stop extracting the entire gas produced at the moment? I think that the authors of these proposals have very little understanding of the real state of affairs,” he said.

The EU proposals come at a time when tensions are already high between Russia and the EU when it comes to energy, and specifically natural gas. Prices have been soaring as Europe’s demand is squeezed by tighter-than-expected supplies.

Russia has said it has ramped up gas supplies but critics say it is using its gas exports to the region for political purposes, chiefly its bid to get Germany to certify the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Russia denied it was exploiting Europe’s gas crisis, with President Vladimir Putin insisting to CNBC on Wednesday that Moscow was not using gas a weapon.

Arctic engagement

Tensions in the Arctic have already been growing between regional players for a number of years, particularly in light of Russia’s quiet expansion of its political, economic and military influence there.

Unlike Russia, the EU is a comparatively new player in the Arctic and the bloc, per se, is not a member of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, although the Council includes the EU member states Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

The EU appears to be looking to increase its role in the region, however, and in a proposal mooted by the European Commission on Wednesday, it noted that “the Arctic region is of major strategic importance for the European Union, with regard to climate change, raw materials as well as geostrategic influence.”

It said it would aim to “strengthen EU engagement” in the region through “contributing to maintaining peaceful and constructive dialogue and cooperation in a changing geopolitical landscape, to keep the Arctic safe and stable” as well as “pushing for oil, coal and gas to stay in the ground, including in Arctic regions” and “supporting the inclusive and sustainable development of the Arctic regions to the benefit of its inhabitants and future generations.”

The Arctic is an integral part of Russia’s economy and territory, its coastline accounts for 53% of Arctic Ocean coastline and the country’s population in the region totals roughly 2 million people — that’s around half of the people living in the Arctic worldwide, according to the Arctic Institute, a center for circumpolar security studies.

Female polar bear with her two cubs on drifting iceberg in Barents Sea, Russia.

Alexei Chekunkov, Russia’s minister for development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, said in June that “the Arctic is the engine of economic growth. It accounts for 10% of our GDP and 20% of our exports” and Russia is aware of sustainability in the region; the theme for Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council, a position it will hold until 2023, is “Responsible Governance for a Sustainable Arctic.“

Sustainability is a big question for the region, which is being starkly affected by climate change: The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the global average, according to the Norwegian Polar Institute, which has warned that “significant regional warming leads to continued loss of sea ice, melting of glaciers and of the Greenland ice cap” with drastic consequences for humans and nature in the region, and the world.

Novak questioned whether the EU proposals meant that people living and working in the region would have to move.

“There are many people living in the Arctic zone of Russia, there are many settlements and communities that inhabit these regions, we generate power to support their activities. What should we deduce from such statements – that we need to put an end to all human activities, to habitation in these regions altogether?” he said Thursday.

He noted that the proposals did not only affect Russia, with the U.S., Canada, and Iceland and Norway (which are both in the European Economic Area but not the EU) also having territory in the Arctic, and who are members of the Arctic Council.

Environment

Another Japanese automaker is now ‘re-evaluating’ EV plans

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Another Japanese automaker is now 're-evaluating' EV plans

Subaru is the latest Japanese automaker to announce it will “re-evaluate” its EV plans. The company is rethinking its strategy with slowing sales and a potential multi-billion-dollar hit from Trump’s auto tariffs. The tariffs might not even be Subaru’s biggest threat.

Subaru and other Japanese automakers adjust EV plans

Within the past week, Japanese automakers, including Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and now Subaru, have announced major adjustments to their EV plans.

After releasing fiscal year financial results on Wednesday, Subaru’s CEO, Atsushi Osaki, said, “We are re-evaluating our plans, including the timing of investments.” Osaki added that the move is due to “today’s rapidly changing environment” and other external factors.

Like most of the industry, Subaru is bracing for a shift under the Trump administration, which could cost it billions. With around half of its vehicles sold, the US is key for the Japanese automaker.

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Subaru said Trump’s new auto tariffs could cost the company up to $2.5 billion this year. The automaker is looking at ways to boost US production, but it won’t be easy.

Tomoaki Emori, Subaru’s senior managing executive director, said (via Automotive News), “Under the current circumstances, there is probably no way not to expand in the US. We must think about how to go about that.”

Emori added that the company still has the production capacity, “so we would like to mitigate the impact of tariffs while making use of it.”

Subaru joins a growing list of automakers in pulling its earnings forecast, citing “developments in US tariff policy” make it hard to forecast.

The company’s global sales fell 4.1% to 936,000 units over the past year. In North America, deliveries also fell 4.1% to 732,000 vehicles. Subaru anticipates global sales will continue dropping to around 900,000 this year, or another 4% drop. A part of the forecast is due to downtime at its Yajima plant as Subaru prepares to produce EV batteries.

Osaki said Subaru is “making various preparations for a BEV-dedicated plant,” but added it may add a mix of gas-powered vehicles.

Subaru unveiled its second EV for the US at last month’s NY Auto Show, the 2026 Trailseeker. The Outback-sized electric SUV will go on sale in 2026, joining the smaller Solterra in Subaru’s EV lineup in the US.

Since “It is becoming more difficult to decide how to incorporate electrification into our production mix,” Emori said, Subaru is “thinking about how to incorporate hybrids and plug-in hybrids.”

Electrek’s Take

Subaru and other Japanese automakers are quickly falling behind Chinese EV leaders like BYD in some of their most important sales regions, like Southeast Asia.

Delaying new EV models and other projects will only set them further behind in the long run. Nissan is in crisis mode after scrapping plans to build a new battery plant in Japan. The facility was expected to produce lower-cost LFP batteries, which could have helped Nissan compete on costs with BYD and others.

Last week, Toyota’s President, Koji Sato, said the company will be “reviewing” its goal of selling 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2026. And just yesterday, Honda announced plans to pause around $15 billion in planned EV investments in Canada.

BYD and other EV leaders are expanding overseas to drive growth after squeezing foreign brands, especially Japanese automakers, out of China.

Next year, BYD is launching its first kei car, or mini EV, that’s expected to be a big threat to Japanese automakers. A Suzuki dealer (via Nikkei) warned, “Young people do not have a negative view of BYD. It would be a huge threat if the company launches cheap models in Japan.”

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Environment

Porsche just added 97,000 more charging stations to its app

Published

4 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Porsche just added 97,000 more charging stations to its app

Porsche charging stations app — Photo: PCNA

Porsche Cars North America has integrated over 97,000 more charging stations into its app, streamlining its Porsche Charging Service.

That brings the total number of EV charging stations available to Porsche Charging Service customers in the US to 102,000, with more scheduled to be added in 2025. That means Porsche drivers can now use the My Porsche app as a one-stop shop to easily find, use, and pay at most J1772 and CCS charging stations.

“This is a significant milestone for Porsche and the electric vehicle journey,” said Timo Resch, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “We know flexibility and choice are important.”

Customers in the Porsche Charging Service inclusive period – that’s the year after you buy your EV – or who sign up for Porsche Charging Service Premium can now access the ChargePoint, EV Connect, EVgo, Flo, EvGateway, and Ionna networks, in addition to chargers in the Electrify America network.

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Customers in the Porsche Charging Service Base plan will receive access later this summer.

More info is here.

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Environment

Tesla (TSLA) board explore new pay deal for Elon Musk

Published

4 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Tesla (TSLA) board explore new pay deal for Elon Musk

Tesla’s (TSLA) board is reportedly exploring a new CEO pay deal for Elon Musk, who might not get back his $55 billion 2018 compensation package.

According to a new Financial Times report, Tesla’s board created a new “special committee” to explore a new CEO pay package for Musk.

The report points to the committee looking at new stock options and “alternative ways” to compensate Musk if Tesla fails to reinstate his 2018 compensation package, which was rescinded by a judge who found that Musk negotiated the deal with a board under his control and then misrepresented it to shareholders.

Musk is Tesla’s largest shareholder and therefore, he stands to benefit the most when the company does well. However, he doesn’t take a salary for his role as CEO.

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Historically, He has received stock compensation packages, with the one secured in 2018 being the controversial one currently under contention.

Since then, no new CEO compensation package has been approved, and Tesla has not suggested another one as it tried to appeal the judge’s decision on the 2018 package.

The company is currently attacking the decision on two fronts with an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court and a new legislation in Delaware to try to circumvent the decision altogether.

FT reporting that the board is working on a new compensation package with backpay could point to Tesla anticipating not being able to reinstate the original compensation package.

Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson are the board members reportedly on the new committee.

Denholm took over from Musk as Tesla’s chair, and she has recently made headlines for selling her Tesla stock options for more than $530 million over the last few years.

Electrek’s Take

It increasingly looks like Tesla won’t be able to distance itself from Musk and separate its fate from his.

Musk has masterfully convinced Tesla shareholders that the destruction of its core business, selling electric vehicles, doesn’t matter because the company is on the verge of solving self-driving – something he has claimed every year for the last 6 years and has been wrong every time.

Now that they don’t care about EVs, there’s no point in blaming Musk for killing demand and delivering a single new vehicle in 5 years, the Cybertruck, a commercial flop.

Therefore, the only thing that will make Tesla shareholders stop wanting Musk as CEO is if they stop believing his self-driving and humanoid robot claims.

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