Climate reparations are not going to be helpful, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says
U.S Senator Lindsey Graham has said the world should focus on environmental damage prevention rather than on climate reparations.
Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The world should focus on environmental damage prevention rather than on climate reparations, U.S Senator Lindsey Graham said Friday, calling for approaches that integrate countries worldwide.
“Climate change is real. Let’s find rational solutions to the problem that are win-win,” Graham stressed during a panel moderated by CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Friday, entitled “Spotlight: Geopolitics of Carbon Border Adjustments.”
He added, “Let’s clean out the planet in a way that gets buy-in from a lot of different people. The idea of ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance investing], you know, paying climate reparations … is not going to be helpful.”
Countries have been pursuing initiatives to combat climate change through decarbonization, carbon capture and storage, as well as carbon offset schemes — which allow companies and governments to invest in environmental projects in order to balance out their emissions elsewhere. Voluntary carbon offset schemes have in the past come under fire for being insufficiently regulated, potentially undermining net-zero targets, and for the challenge in quantifying whether emissions have been fully compensated.
U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry in November revealed a new U.S. carbon offset plan, the Energy Transition Accelerator, which allows corporations to fund renewable energy projects in developing countries that are grappling with transitioning away from fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies cannot participate in this program.
Graham underlined the need to focus on preventative action and to draft countries into green transition efforts.
“I think the best thing we do for the planet is come up with low-carbon technology sooner rather than later, get people like China and India, who are big emitters, to play,” he said, noting that carbon adjusted border fees could help towards this.
Climate action has been a key topic of the Munich Security Conference, especially in light of Russia’s role as a major oil and gas supplier prior to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Friday argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s behavior is “speeding the transition in Europe,” which lost access to seaborne imports of Moscow’s crude oil in early December and to its oil products deliveries in February.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Frans Timmermans said global warming posed one of the greatest risks to security worldwide and urged that efforts to limit its impact should not be derailed by other geopolitical crises, such as the war in Ukraine.
Speaking during the earlier “Geopolitics of Green Transition” panel on Friday, the European Commission’s climate chief urged that initiatives to rein in the impact of global warming should not be derailed by other geopolitical crises, such as the war in Ukraine.
“Climate is security, it’s the same thing,” said Frans Timmermans, executive vice-president for the European Green Deal and commissioner for climate action at the European Commission. He remarked that, without climate action, “there is no doubt in my mind that my kids, my grandkids will be fighting wars over water and food.”
Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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