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The energy transition sustained an electoral trauma as 2024 drew to a close. The incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo at least some of the progress made on decarbonization under President Joe Biden. But the energy market is its own beast, subject to politics but also beholden to economic, technological, environmental and international forces. Here are five elements to watch in Year One of Trump Two. Democrats entered 2021 debating how many trillions of dollars of subsidies would feature in a climate bill. Four years later, they brace for how much of the (shrunken) legislation that ultimately passed will survive. Source link

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued the U.S. government Monday for blocking the merger of the two companies on national security grounds. The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenges the decision by President Joe Biden to reject the deal, arguing that the companies were denied due process and other rights and claiming that the $14.9 billion transaction was blocked for political reasons. Determinations by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and subsequent national security decisions by presidents based on those determinations are generally not subject to judicial review, but some success has been achieved with claims involving questions about due process and procedural matters. The suit filed Monday by the two companies seeks to have the CFIUS review of their deal set aside and a new review conducted. A second suit, filed by the two companies in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleges that Cleveland-Cliffs, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves and David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers, engaged in “illegal and coordinated actions” aimed at preventing the deal. The suit seeks monetary damages and an injunction against the defendants from “engaging in collusive and anti-competitive behavior.” Nippon Steel is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday morning. Biden announced Friday his decision to block the transaction due to national security concerns, saying the proposed deal would endanger America’s steel supply, after CFIUS failed to achieve a consensus in a monthslong review. The two companies said they are committed to closing the transaction despite “racketeering and monopolistic conspiracies” involving Cleveland-Cliffs and McCall. “We remain confident that the transaction is the best path forward to secure the future of U.S. Steel — and we will vigorously defend our rights to achieve this objective,” the two companies said in a statement. Having been mostly silent since the proposed transaction was announced over a year ago, some government officials in Tokyo voiced concerns following Biden’s Friday decision. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said earlier on Monday that the U.S. needs to address concerns that are critically important to the future of Japan-U.S. relations. “It is an unfortunate fact that concerns are being raised within Japan’s industrial sector. We cannot take this lightly,” Ishiba said. “Conversations won’t go forward without a clear explanation as to why there are security concerns. No matter how strong our alliance, this matter is critically important for the future of our relationship.” Industry minister Yoji Muto also said on Monday that the government needs to consider specifically what kind of support it can provide to Nippon Steel. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are set to meet in Tokyo on Tuesday. Source link

Justin Trudeau is expected to announce his resignation as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party this week, the Globe and Mail reported, a move that would trigger a contest to replace him as prime minister. Trudeau has been under pressure from elected lawmakers in his party to quit for months. That has only intensified since Chrystia Freeland, his finance minister, stepped down on Dec. 16, saying she and the prime minister were at odds on policy. Trudeau’s decision about what to do next is being held very closely, according to a person close to the prime minister. The Globe report, which cited people the newspaper didn’t identify, did not say that Trudeau has firmly made up his mind to give up power. Source link

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday fended off questions during a visit to Seoul over the White House’s willingness to speak out more vocally following impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law. Blinken, on what was likely his final visit to the region as the United States’ top diplomat, met his counterpart and the country’s acting president for talks aimed at encouraging stability and continuity with the U.S. ally — including in its much-improved relations with Japan — amid the political chaos and as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. The United States has “serious concerns” about Yoon’s actions, but at the same time it “has confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy and the strength of its institutions,” Blinken told a televised joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. “We reaffirm our unwavering support for the Korean people as they work tirelessly to uphold those institutions,” he added. Blinken also reiterated the United States’ “ironclad commitment” to defending South Korea during earlier talks with acting President Choi Sang-mok in which the two spoke about “how both sides will work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and trilateral cooperation with Japan,” according to the U.S. State Department. Blinken’s visit, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Japan, came as authorities were attempting to arrest the embattled Yoon, who remains ensconced in his residence following his impeachment. The arrest warrant for Yoon was set to expire Monday, though officials were attempting to have it extended. If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested. Nevertheless, both allies appeared eager to put a good face on the relationship Monday, with Blinken telling Choi that he has “complete trust” in his leadership, according to a statement released by Seoul. Choi, who is also serving as finance minister, is the country’s second acting leader since Yoon was impeached last month. The South’s Constitutional Court is currently deliberating whether to finalize Yoon’s removal. The administration of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has lauded Yoon for his willingness to mend ties with Japan and for boosting the three countries’ trilateral security relationship amid growing tensions with North Korea and China. Yoon had faced domestic criticism for sidelining citizens seeking apologies and reparations from Japan over issues related to its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. In 2023, Yoon joined Biden for a historic Camp David trilateral summit with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, giving the White House a big win that it has repeatedly cited as evidence of its successful push to build up U.S. alliances following Trump’s first stint in the White House. Choi said in a statement that South Korea remained committed to the “principles and agreements from the Camp David summit,” adding that Seoul “will continue to maintain its diplomatic and security policies based on a strong Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance and trilateral cooperation among the ROK, the U.S. and Japan.” People watch a television showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at the main railway station in Seoul on Monday. | AFP-JIJI In a testament to the importance of those ties as underlined by Blinken, nuclear-armed North Korea fired off one of its powerful intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) just as the top U.S. diplomat was holding his meetings in Seoul. “Today’s launch is just a reminder to all of us of how important our collaborative work is,” Blinken told a news conference with Cho, his South Korean counterpart. South Korea’s military said that the North had fired off what it believed was an IRBM toward the Sea of Japan from the Pyongyang area at around noon, with the weapon traveling some 1,100 kilometers. It said that allied intelligence authorities had monitored the North’s preparations for the launch — the nuclear-armed country’s first of the year — and “immediately detected and tracked” it, sharing relevant information with Japan. Japan’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the launch, saying, too, that it had traveled about 1,100 km at an altitude of about 100 km before splashing down just outside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “The series of actions taken by North Korea, including the repeated launches of ballistic missiles, threaten the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Tokyo has “strongly protested and condemned” the move. In Seoul, Blinken also singled out North Korea’s budding partnership with Russia, which he said has been bolstering space cooperation with Pyongyang, including in Moscow’s war in Ukraine. “The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training,” Blinken said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “Now we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok shake hands during a meeting in Seoul on Monday. | Pool / via REUTERS North Korea has sent around 12,000 troops to Russia for the latter’s war against Ukraine and is believed to be receiving food and other aid in return, in addition to the space and satellite technology Blinken mentioned. Blinken also reiterated a recent claim by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield that Washington also believes Moscow “may be close” to formally accepting Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power. Monday’s launch was Pyongyang’s first since U.S. voters elected Trump to a second stint in the White House on Nov. 5. The North last fired off a missile just hours before that vote took place, sending multiple short-range weapons into waters outside Japan’s EEZ. In an apparent signal to the U.S. president-elect ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration, North Korea used a key party meeting overseen by leader Kim Jong Un late last month to announce its “toughest” ever strategy to counter the United States. Trump

Beverly Hills, California – “The Brutalist,” the story of a Holocaust survivor who chases the American dream, and musical thriller “Emilia Perez” took home the first major movie honors of Hollywood’s awards season at the Golden Globes on Sunday. “The Brutalist” was named best movie drama and star Adrien Brody won best film actor. “Emilia Perez” claimed best movie musical or comedy. At the red-carpet ceremony in Beverly Hills, Demi Moore won best actress in a musical or comedy film for her leading role in “The Substance,” the story of a fading actress seeking a fountain of youth. Source link

In 695 years, Japan will be left with only one child if its birthrate continues on its current trajectory, an expert on the graying of society has warned. The forecast by Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at Tohoku University’s Research Center for Aged Economy and Society, shows that by Jan. 5, 2720, the nation would have only one child age 14 and below. Yoshida, who maintains a counter that provides an estimated date for when the number of children in the country is reduced to just one, has been releasing estimates every April since 2012. Source link

Japan’s prime minister on Monday urged Washington to dispel concerns that a decision by U.S. President Joe Biden to block Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel could impact future investments. The U.S. president’s announcement last week cited a strategic need to protect domestic industry, a move that drew sharp criticism from both companies and Tokyo. A U.S. government panel had failed to reach consensus on whether the $14.9 billion acquisition threatened national security, shifting the decision to Biden in the waning days of his presidency. Source link

Shizuoka – The city of Shizuoka’s “Plastic Modeling Plan,” launched by the local government in partnership with model manufacturers to highlight its local industry expertise and foster pride among its residents, is going strong despite coming to the end of its fifth year. In the heart of the city, local authorities have installed several striking monuments of plastic models. These creations replicate plastic model parts held in frames, the kind found in boxes of model kits at hobby shops and toy stores. The monuments feature iconic designs such as parts of a Shinkansen train and the armor worn by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, during the Sengoku (Warring States) period (1482-1573). Source link

Japan’s weather agency said Monday that last year was the hottest since records began, mirroring other nations as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel climate change. Worldwide, 2024 was expected to have been the warmest recorded, the U.N.’s weather and climate agency said last week, capping a decade of unprecedented heat and other types of extreme weather. Across Japan, the average temperatures from January through December were 1.48 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average, the Meteorological Agency said. Source link

TAIPEI – Cyberattacks on Taiwan’s government departments doubled in 2024 from the previous year to an average of 2.4 million attacks a day, the island’s National Security Bureau said, adding that most of them were launched by Chinese cyber forces. Taiwan has in recent years complained about what it sees as China’s “gray-zone harassment” — from daily military drills and balloons near the island to cyberattacks — at a time when Beijing ramps up military and political pressure to force the democratically governed island to accept its sovereignty claim. Taiwan’s Government Service Network, or GSN, received a daily average of 2.4 million attacks last year, double the daily average of 1.2 million in 2023, according to a report by the National Security Bureau on Sunday. Source link